Fogotten Trails: Journeys End with S
by xXLHMCXx
Summary: The first of the Forgotten Trails Saga. As a new journey begins for Sora, an old one ends. An old enemy rises once more. Sora must try his hardest to defeat the new threat and keep his friends safe, but at what cost? Will he lose his friends and defeat the threat, or keep his friends and perish into the Realm of Darkness? SoxKai RiXio RoxNam
1. Chapter 1

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Destiny Islands: __Alshata_

_April 6th, 2021_

Sora sat on the trunk of the lean Paopu Tree, in his hands a bottle and a scrolled message with the King's Seal on it. He looked off into the sunset. Ever since he had gotten the letter, he had been contemplating about whether or not he should go. But there was a few words lingering in his head from the message:

_And now the door to your next journey is ready to be opened._

"I wonder what it'll be like, my next journey." Sora said to himself, looking down at the letter once more, then back at the sunset.

"Sora." Riku called, walking down the wooden bridge with his hand in his pocket.

"Riku." Sora said, looking at the silver haired teen stop to look at the sunset.

"Have you decided yet?" Riku asked, thinking about the letter as well.

Sora paused for a moment._ I won't ever have a chance like this come by again. Might as well make the best of it._ "Yeah."

A girl in a pink skirt and pink mini jacket walked down the wooden bridge to the two boys. "Sora."

Sora looked at the girl, his expression fell a bit. "Kairi." He leaped down from the trunk of the tree and walked over to her, looking for the right words to say. "I..."

Kairi looked up at his deep blue eyes, hers showing affection. She nodded in understanding.

"There are still sad people. And everyone's waiting. I have to put back everything that's connected to me." Sora was trying not to pick the wrong words to say to the girl of his dreams.

Riku chuckled a bit at Sora's situation. He understood what the boy had to go through.

Kairi understood also, for she smiled at Sora, causing him to smile back. She reached for his hand and pulled it from his side. She placed something in his hand and Sora looked down at what it was.

"Hurry back." she said, almost crying.

Sora looked at it in disbelief. He wrapped his fingers around the star-shaped charm, but then released his grip and handed it back to Kairi. "I can't take this."

Kairi stopped crying and looked up at him in surprise and sadness. "What?" _It took me hours to work on this for him, and he just says no?_

_Maybe there's a reason?_

Naminé 's voice startled Kairi as it echoed in her head.

Kairi gave Sora no time to respond before running off, tears trailing behind her.

"No, Kairi, wait! I can explain!" Sora called out to her. She either didn't hear him or ignored him as she ran through the Seaside Shack.

"Real smooth, spiky." Riku said, sighing. A faint blue glow outlined Sora as a transparent image of a spiky blonde haired Nobody came into existence.

"Yeah, way to go, Sora! Now there's two people mad at us!" the blonde said.

"Two?" Sora asked, raising two fingers and cocking his head to the side.

"Yeah, two! Naminé spent all the time Kairi did making that thing for us! And you just say no! What the hell is wrong with you?" he said, smacking Sora on the back of his head.

"Geez, Roxas! Cut it out! I'll go apologize, but you have to come to." Roxas haltered his movement and looked at his Somebody.

"Why do I have to go?" he asked, whining. Roxas' shoulders dropped and his face grew long.

"Because, you're half of me, and Naminé is half of Kairi. So, you're practically me. Now let's go." Sora grabbed Roxas' wrist and dragged him along the wooden bridge.

"No wait! I'll apologize later! Wait a minute, how the hell are you holding me? Riku! Help me!" Roxas called out tot he silver-haired teen for help, but shrugged in response, laughing at the two.

Sora and Roxas entered the wooden door that had belong to the Seaside Shack.

"Do ya think she'll forgive you?" Roxas asked, looking at his counterpart.

"I hope so. If I give enough reason, then maybe she will. I'm just worried about you, man." Sora put an arm around his Nobody and poked his transparent forehead.

Roxas swatted his finger away and looked at Sora with confused eyes. "How the hell are you able to touch me?"

Sora put a finger to his chin and tapped his left foot rapidly on the sand. "I think it's because you are a projection of your former body. And your former body had part of me in you. So what I'm trying to say is- Hey! Are you even listening?"

Roxas was leaning against the wooden wall, snoring while his head bobbed slightly with his body. Sora walked up to him and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Roxas, Kairi's making pancakes." at that instant, Roxas awoke from his slumber and fell backwards, phasing through the wooden room and onto the sand outside.

Sora opened the door that lead tot he main beach, laughing hysterically. Roxas sat down on the sand, rubbing his head. He looked up at the the blue-eyed teen, anger in his eyes.

"YOU LIED! THERE'S NO PANCAKES HERE!" he yelled, chasing after Sora up the ramp near the waterfall and to the giant tree trunk that served as a tunnel to the Secret Place. Sora stopped laughing and had a serious expression on. He turned to Roxas, who nodded in return.

Sora ducked first, having not gone into the small tunnel in over a year. Roxas followed suit, staying quiet. Sora was quiet also, listening to the two female voices that he knew all too well.

"...sure... reason." That was all Sora could make as the distance between the him and the voices slowly decreased.

"I know there is, but don't you think he would've told me before?" the voice of Kairi asked.

Sora was about the near the clearing in the cave when Roxas grabbed his arm, holding him back. Sora whipped around to see a hand around his forearm.

"What are you doing?" he whispered angrily.

"Hm?" Roxas asked innocently.

Sora's brows furrowed and pointed to the transparent hand attached to his.

"Hey, buddy. I'm savin' your life here." Roxas said, his expression become serious once more. Sora tilted his head on confusion.

Roxas hit his forehead with his palm silently, staring at his Somebody hard. "Just wait for the opportune moment. Trust me, you'll know when to talk to her, man."

Sora nodded and leaned against the edge of the stone tunnel, listening in for the opportune moment.

"Roxas was probably in on it too!" the second female said.

"Naminé!" Roxas yelled silently. His eyes widened at her voice. He looked at Sora again. "See what you do!"

"C'mon Roxas, calm down. I got this." Sora said, reassuring his Nobody.

"All I want from him is an apology." Kairi said, wiping tears from her eyes. Namine wrapped her arms around her in an effort to comfort her.

"Dude, now's your chance." Roxas said, helping up Sora up and shoving him playfully. Sora stumbled into the clearing, seeing Kairi in the arms of Naminé. Naminé looked up first to see the boy who had caused Kairi to cry.

"You!" Naminé released Kairi and stomped over to Sora, slapping him across his face.

"Ow, damn it Naminé!" Roxas shouted, rubbing his cheek immensely.

Naminé stomped over to the other blonde, still furious. She slapped him on both sides of his cheek, the second slap being the hardest. "The first one was for being Sora's Nobody! The second was for cursing at me! Never curse at your girlfriend." Naminé's expression softened as she saw Roxas' sincere blue eyes. She kissed Roxas on both sides of his cheeks, making him feel slightly better.

"Kairi..." Sora choked up on his words as he staggered towards the red head.

She looked at him abhorrently as she wiped away her tears. Her eyes went from beautiful blue, to irritated red. "What do _you_ want?"

"I came to say... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like the way I said it." Kairi looked up at the teen in confusion.

"Well how did you mean it?" she still had regret and sadness in her system, and Sora was trying his best to release them.

"What I meant by what I said was, I can't accept that charm because there's no need for it. Because you're my lucky charm, I don't want to lose you." Sora exhaled deeply, feeling relieved.

The tears forming from Kairi's eyes stopped and she slowly started to smile. She got up from the cold cave floor and walked over to Sora.

"Kairi, I'm so-" Sora couldn't finish his sentence for Kairi locked him in her embrace. Sora looked down at the red head girl.

_Strawberry Vanilla. She still smells heavenly._

Sora returned the favor and completed the embrace that was given to him. A smile crept on his face as he felt Roxas merging back into him, a faint blue glow encased the boy.

"Sora?" Kairi asked, her blue orbs staring into Sora's.

"Yes, Kai?" He couldn't resist inhaling her scent one last time.

"Did you really mean what you said? About me being your good luck charm?"

"Of course. I'd give anything to gave you by my side at all times." Sora did the unexpected and planted a kiss on the girl's cheek, causing Kairi to blush. _Real smooth, dude._

Kairi smiled warmly at him, hugging him once more. Though her hug wasn't that powerful, it caught Sora off guard and he fell on his back with Kairi laying on top of him, both of them blushing madly.

"Well then, what do we have here? Sorry for interrupting but we got yet another message from The King." Riku's voice echoed in the cave. He tossed Sora yet another bottle with the King's Seal on it. "Oh, and Sora, sorry for cock-blocking." He left with an evil grin planted on his face.

Sora caught the bottle easily on his right hand and uncorked the bottle, pulling out the message. He scanned the letter itself before reading it aloud, Roxas and Naminé phasing into existence once more.

_"I will be giving you three, including Kairi, two weeks to get anything you need to bring ready. _

_I will send two assistants as transport from Destiny Islands to my Castle._

_When the two assistants come, do not be alarmed._

_They are good friends of mine and you should know them._

_Since the distance between their home world and yours is great, it takes them about three days of flying._

_So I will depart them next week. Relax and enjoy the time you have._

_- Mickey"_

Sora put the letter in his pocket with the other letter.

"Kairi." Sora looked down at the girl.

"Yes, Sora?" she asked, worry in her eyes again. Roxas and Naminé smirked and leaned against each other.

"We're probably gonna be spending a lot of time together. And I don't want it to be in vein. So, what I'm trying to say is-" Sora stumbled again with his words but couldn't finish for Roxas did the honors for him.

"What he's saying is 'would you be his girlfriend'?" Roxas said, smiling cheekily.

Kairi's expression lightened greatly as she heard the words coming out of his mouth. "I thought you'd never ask!" Kairi tackled Sora back to the ground, smothering him.

The four of them laughed loudly and left the cave, Roxas and Naminé phasing back into Sora and Kairi respectively. Meanwhile, Sora and Kairi were hand-in-hand walking towards the beach.

**KHKHKH**

Riku sat on the trunk of the Paopu Tree, thinking of every memory that happened to him over the past two years. They whizzed by, only leaving the voices that lived in them.

_"Sora." his Past Self saying to the Past Sora. He tossed Sora a paopu fruit from the curved tree. "You wanted one, didn't you?"_

The memory went by, leaving Riku chuckling to himself as another one played itself out.

_Past Riku stood in a pool of Darkness in front of Sora back when the Islands were about to be destroyed. "Once we set through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"_

Riku's expression faded into one of pain and guilt as he remember his dive into the Darkness. It was a horrible experience that he wished he never tried. But then again, it wouldn't have made him the person he is today.

Another memory floated by, leaving Riku more sad.

_"Do you need some help?" his Past self asked, outstretching a hand to the wicked witch Maleficent. Then, Past Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Beast enter from where they once were._

_"Riku!" Sora called out, the silver-haired teen looking up at his friend. Donald pointed to the object in Riku's hand._

_"Is that-?"_

_"Yes, a keyblade. But unlike yours, mine holds the power to unlock peoples' hearts. Allow me to demonstrate... behold!" Past Riku thrust his dark keyblade into Maleficent's chest, releasing the Darkness from the depths of her heart._

Riku shuddered at the memory, discarding it. He continued to go through his memory banks nonetheless.

_"So, do you hate me for taking your friend away from you?" Xion asked as she pushed off of the Pineapple Tree in the islet._

_Past Riku looked at her in surprise, but then relaxed. "Nah, I guess... I'm just sad."_

Riku felt a pang in his chest, almost as if his heart was lurching towards the memory_. _

_I wasn't mad at all. Nor was I sad. I guess I was really just neutral because I knew she wasn't... real._

"But still. Why do I feel-" Riku's thought were cut short as his nest friends, Sora and Kairi strolled towards him.

"Riku!" Sora called, running with Kairi in tow.

Riku turned around on the tree trunk, a smile on his face. "What is it?"

"Well, if you want to stay here on this island, be my guest. But, me and Kairi are going to leave. You comin?" Sora jabbed his thumb towards the stationary boats in the water near the docks.

"Yeah, just give me a sec." Riku waved the two away, turning back around to watch the setting sun. Realization hit Riku hard. "Wait, was Sora and Kairi holding hands!"

* * *

**Well, that's all folks! Hope you enjoy it! **

**The Cloaked Nocturne**

_- Got it memorized? _


	2. Plan of Relaxation

**This will be updated preferably on Saturdays. But if I finish before then, then I'll be sure to update as soon as possible.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**Edit: Scene Change is now underlined.**

* * *

_Plan of Relaxation_

_Destiny Islands: Expion_

_April 7th, 2021_

Waking up wasn't a routine Riku liked to practice. He sat up groggily in his bed, looking around. There was his old desk; his plasma screen was positioned on his wall opposite of his bed, a giant window sat just above his bed.

Riku looked at the window which was slightly open. "Nothing's changed." The events of the previous night replayed in his mind.

_Sora rowed his wooden boat off the shore of Alshata towards the mainland, Expion. Kairi sat in the same boat as him, eyeing him carefully. Sora paid no mind to what his girlfriend was doing and kept rowing._

_Dude, she's checking you out!_

_What are you talking about, Roxas?_

_Kairi. She keeps looking at you._

_Isn't she supposed to?_

_"Sora!" Riku called out from his boat a few feet away. Sora waved at the silver haired teen, which in turn waved back as well. Riku sat back down in his seat in the boat and rowed harder, gaining speed and decreasing the distance between the two boats tremendously. He finally caught up to the two and instead of keeping up the pace, he kept his constant increasing speed and ended up being the first one to hit the soft sand of Expion._

_Sora turned around to see the teen punching the air with his fist. He chuckled and turned back around to row properly to the docks. Sora looked up at his passenger. She was looking out at the setting sun over the ocean. She was encased in a faint golden glow and Naminé came into existence, as did Roxas from Sora._

_"The sunset is beautiful." Kairi said, sighing contently._

_"Yeah, it is." Roxas and Sora said simultaneously. "Jinx! You owe me two hundred Munny!" Roxas shouted, jumping up from his seat in the boat._

_Sora, Naminé, and Kairi remained silent before bursting out in laughter._

_"What! What's so funny?" Roxas shouted, putting his hands on his hips._

_"Roxas, you can't even hold Munny!" Sora said, shoving him slightly._

_"What makes you think you even need it, hun?" Naminé asked playfully._

_Roxas blushed and stammered with his words. "To-uh, um. To uh, buy all Lady Gaga albums and play them in your head!"_

_Sora stopped laughing and looked at him hard. But that look was short lived for Sora pushed Roxas off of the boat and into the cold evening water that belonged to Destiny Island. Roxas' head went under the surface and stayed there for several moments._

_Sora stopped laughing again, a look of panic flooded his face. "Oh, no. Roxas! Great, I finally rejoin with my Nobody less than a day ago and now he might drown to death!"_

_Little did Sora know that Roxas crept up on the other side of the boat quietly and put a finger up to his lips, signaling Kairi and__Naminé__to stay quiet. Roxas inched his way towards his Somebody, only moving when the boat rocked with the waves. Roxas raised his hands behind his back to shove said Somebody. He was about to push him when he stopped. Roxas dropped his hands and turned to look at Kairi, beckoning her to come to his position quietly._

_"- death at fifteen! That should be some kinda illegal!" Sora frantically splashed his hands through the water in search of air bubbles from his 'drowning' Nobody._

_Kairi took Roxas' place just behind Sora and tapped him on the shoulder. Sora whipped around, coming face to face with Kairi, and lip to lip as well.__Naminé__and Roxas watched on as the event unfolded. They turned to each other and Roxas pecked her on the forehead, causing__Naminé__to lean on Roxas' chest._

_The boat remained in a constant direction as it neared the docks of Expion, Riku sitting down on the sand of the beach. Riku opened his eyes and saw the two kissing on a boat as it neared the docks. The sun had completely gone down and the moon had risen from the darkness that kept it in confinement._

_"Oh, crap, it's night!" Riku did his well-known kip-up onto his feet and waved at the two blonde Nobodies that had_their_eyes open. Roxas and__Naminé__didn't let this go unnoticed for they coughed loudly to interrupt their kiss. Sora and Kairi looked at their Nobodies, respectively, in confusion. In response, Roxas pointed to the now darkened sky and then at Riku._

_Realization struck Sora and he sat down, grabbing the oars and rowing as hard as he could. In a matter of minutes, the boat rubbed against Expion's sand and the four of them got out of the boat. Roxas and__Naminé__phased back into Sora and Kairi as the met up with Riku._

_"So um, how are we going to explain the past two years to your parents," Riku pointed to Sora. "the past year to your parents," Riku jabbed a finger at Kairi. "and the past two years to my parents?"_

"That's right! I gotta get all of our parents in one place and bring Sora and Kairi." Riku reached into his pocket, instinctively, and pulled out his cell phone. He pushed a few buttons and put the phone to his left ear, holding it with his shoulder.

"Hey, Sora." Riku said quietly as to not make too much noise and wake up his parents.

"Yes?" Sora sounded like he just woke up also, for he yawned loudly.

"Should we hide from our parents and just play it off like we just got here tonight?" Riku got out of bed and took off his plush keyblade lounge pants and pulled on his baggy blue denim jeans with his black belt with square studs. Riku moved the phone from his shoulder to his desk next to his closet so that he could put his top on, which was his black zip-up tank-top and a white and yellow vest over it. He picked up his phone once more and put his socks on.

Assuming that Sora was doing the same thing, Riku spoke up. "Hello?"

"Yeah" Sora replied, muffling from under something. "I think we can play it off, don't you think?"

"Of course. Meet you and Kairi at the docks in ten minutes." Riku retorted, pulling his shoes on and tying the laces that it bore.

"Ten minutes? But Kairi's probably not even up yet! It's only seven o'clock!" Sora whined as he too put his oversized, seeming clown like, shoes on.

"Well then, maybe you should go wake her up? Just a suggestion. I'm not saying you have to but-" Riku chuckled at his friend's reply.

"Oh no! Don't you start with that Reverse Psychalegu thing!" He never knew how the word was pronounced, let alone how to understand it. But his mom explained it to him when he was younger.

"'Psychology', Sora. It's called Psychology." Riku shook his head in slight disappointment and pity for the younger.

"Silence! Words have no control over my Logic!" And with that, Sora hung up, leaving Riku to dismiss the conversation. He closed his phone and looked up at the sky through the window. It was only seven, but the sky was bright enough for the Dark User to shield himself with a tree. He opened the giant window and felt the cool ocean breeze flow into his room. Riku smelled the air contently before jumping out.

_Destiny Islands: Expion_

_Sora's Room_

Sora closed his phone and looked around at his messy room. It was the same way he left it two years ago. His desk full of drawings, he floor scattered in unused or dirty clothes, and his unkempt bed under the window out looking the play island, Ashita.

Sora went over to his mirror next to his desk and looked himself over. He was in his usual outfit of a mini jacket, sleeveless shirt, baggy shorts, and big shoes. He gave himself thumbs up before looking up at his hair. It fell flat and long on his face, in a similar fashion as Riku's.

Sora shook his head violently and his natural gravity-defying hair came into existence. He smiled at his appearance and opened the window, smelling the nostalgic and mesmerizing scent of the ocean. He leaped out said window, leaving his sleeping family behind without a trace.

He landed square on the hard sidewalk. Sora looked around, observing the changes in Expion since he was last here. In replacement of the small houses and scarce shops, there were skyscrapers and large shops. Two years ago, there were dirt roads and palm trees. Now, there was sleek paved roads, bright light posts, and automobiles driving on these streets.

"Wow, this place sure has grown since I was here." Sora sighed contently and kept walking, eventually bolting away, leaving a wisp of smoke in his wake. Sora leaped into the air, running on the side of a building. He reached out with his left hand as a grip but pushed off, soaring through the sky.

_Must you really be doing this now?_

_What? Would you like to? I'm just exercising my legs._

_Whatever. Just get to Kairi's house or else I'll play every Jonas Brothers album I ever know._

_Oh God! Please don't!_

_Try me!_

Sora glided through the sky, soaring over Kairi's house which produced his shadow on her roof. He circled around and landed softly on the sidewalk in front of Kairi's house.

_Knock or Doorbell?_

_Doorbell, definitely_.

Sora grinned and pushed the button as the doorbell rang out.

_Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!_

_Really, Roxas?_

_Sorry, I couldn't resist! I love doorbells!_

_Wait, weren't we supposed to not cause any attention until this afternoon?_

_Yeah, you dumbass!_

_Roxas!_

Sora high jumped onto the terrace of the three story house. Once he was up, he brushed his pants off a bit and walked forward, noticing that there was a glass table decorated with flowers near the edge, cushioned chairs, and a window that lead into Kairi's room. Sora tapped the window with his finger nail as to not awaken the sleeping beauty.

Once there was no response, Roxas phased into existence and walked through the window. Sora's eyes widened at his Nobody's level of nosiness. Roxas turned around and reached his hand out, going through the window. His hand grabbed Sora's, and Sora became transparent as long as he was touching his Nobody. Sora fell onto the plush white carpet but coincidentally phased through it and dipped into the second story of the house.

"Sora!" Roxas screamed mentally. He shoved his arm through the carpet and waved it around to feel for his Somebody's arm. Roxas didn't feel any arm for Sora floated up in a relaxed position with his head resting in his arms.

He opened one eye. "I got this!"

Roxas sweat-dropped and sighed.

There was a slight groan coming from the direction of the pink bed. Sora floated over to the bed, his eyebrows raised. Sora dipped forward to get a closer look at the figure under the covers. He cocked his head and looked back at Roxas, jabbing a thumb at the figure.

Roxas shrugged and floated over to the bed. He poked the figure but it went through the bed. Roxas reeled his hand back quickly, feeling a sense of privacy invasion. Sora looked closely at the shape of the figure. The smallest of curves indicated that it was a young female. He floated around to another angle to observe better. He changed angles several times before floating over to Roxas.

"I don't think that's Kairi." Sora floated away from Roxas and went into the wall closest to the bed. He poked his head into the next room. It was also pink but the bed was right under Sora. He looked around and saw that Roxas wasn't in the room.

"Roxas?" he called out. There was no response and Sora began to become opaque. He flickered into existence and fell onto the bed. There was a head that popped up from the blankets and looked at the boy that landed on her. Their blue eyes met and she grinned evilly.

"Well, if it isn't Sora. Shouldn't this wait until we're older?" he began to blush madly and stammered with his words as he usually did.

"Um, well, uh, I guess, bu-" Sora couldn't find the words to say so Roxas floated into the room and assisted the teen.

"What he's trying to say is 'yes'. And what he came here for is to tell you to get ready without a sound. Riku wants all of us to go to Alshata to discuss the plan of action for our parents. So get ready." Roxas said, phasing back into Sora. The faint blue glow faded as Kairi got up from her bed. She had on a pink tank top and black short shorts that caught Sora's attention.

Kairi turned around to see that Sora had a blood covered tissue over his nose. She blushed and giggled at the sight, flipping her hair. "Sora, you can't just sit there watching me change, silly! You have to turn around or something!" she grabbed a plush toy and threw it square at Sora's face, causing him to fall over.

_Destiny Islands: Expion_

_Kairi's Room_

"Ready?" Sora asked, seeing that Kairi had on her pink outfit.

"Yeah, let's go." She grabbed his hand and slowly opened her bedroom door. Sora stopped and yanked her slightly back. Kairi turned around, cocking her head to the side. "What?"

Sora shook his head and Roxas phased into the room. Sora grabbed his Nobody's hand and turned transparent. Kairi hesitated before taking her boyfriend's hand. She turned transparent and was dragged through the wall and onto the sidewalk. Roxas went back into Sora and the couple walked on.

"Hey, Kairi. I wanna show you something." Sora said, turning to the girl. She turned to him also but found that he was no where to be seen.

"Sora! Sora, where are you?"

"Up here, Kai!" She looked up and saw the caramel-haired teen floating in the air.

"Sora, get down here!" Instead of coming down, he grabbed her hand and tore through the sky towards Alshata.

_Destiny Islands: Alshata_

_Beach Front_

Where are they?" Riku asked to know one in particular. Just then, something flashed across the sky as a wisp of smoke was trailing behind it. "Oh."

* * *

**Well, that's all folks! Hope you enjoy it! **

_The Flurry of Melodious Flames_

_- Dance water! Got it memorized?_


	3. Plan of Relaxation pt 2

** I really like writing this story, mainly because I don't have to keep being serious in every chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney. All references pertaining to Kingdom Hearts also belong to Sqeenix and Disney.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

_Plan of Relaxation pt. 2_

_Destiny Islands: Alshata_

_Beach Front_

Where are they?" Riku asked to know one in particular. Just then, something flashed across the sky as a wisp of smoke was trailing behind it. "Oh." Riku craned his neck as he watched the two land gracefully, their Nobody counterparts making themselves noticed.

"You rang?" Naminé asked grumpily, using her left hand to scratch her head and her right to rub her tired eyes.

"Bite me. Anyway, what do we say to them?" he asked, looking to Sora and Kairi, then to Roxas. He was somehow building a sand castle but a wave knocked it over, causing him to almost cry.

"Relax, Riku! That can be planned out hours away! It's only seven thirty, and we might not even go back until late this evening. Plus it's a work day for them, which usually means that they're not gonna come home 'til around five o'clock, meaning that's nearly ten hours away." Sora put his hands behind his head and leaned his head back; and crossing his feet. "We've got plenty of time!"

"Yeah, Sora's right, Riku. Relax. If anything, we'll be late, and that's better for both of us." Kairi agreed, leaning against her boyfriend.

Riku haltered for a moment before nodding his head. He walked away in the opposite direction of the couple towards the Seaside Shack. Riku pushed open the wooden door and walked up the stairs towards the upper islet. He slightly pushed open the wooden door, peering to the right towards the Beach Front where Sora and Kairi were laying down.

"Perfect." Riku said to himself, opening the door fully. He closed it behind him and hid behind the coconut tree. The silver haired teen summoned his keyblade, the Way to Dawn. He turned around to see that Sora and Kairi were still lying on the sand. He turned back around and reached deep within his heart for the only force he knew, Darkness.

Riku's left hand grew dark as a black swirling orb filled it, only to fizzle and shorten out. "What the-" he tried again, only to get the same results.

_Foolish boy, you still don't know, do you?_

_No way, it can't be._

_Oh, but it can, Riku._

_What do you want Xehanort?_

_That's not my name, child. My name is Ansem. You of all people should know that._

_Again, what do you want? _

Riku didn't get a response, but instead felt a sense of dropping as he descended into his heart.

_Destiny Islands: Ashita_

_Beach Front_

Sora draped an arm around Kairi, watching as the Sun made its appearance in the sky and the waves dancing near their feet.

"It seems like only yesterday that we left these Islands, doesn't it?" Kairi asked, looking up at the boy's blue orbs.

"Yeah, it does." Sora sighed contently and got up, but not before kissing Kairi on her cheek. "I'll be right back. I gotta go find Riku." Sora brushed his sand covered shorts off and walked towards the waves. He paused and felt an odd sensation in his body.

Hey, Roxas? Do you feel that?

There was no response, but in return Sora felt his body grow heavy and he fell over into the ocean's waves.

"Sora!" Kairi called out, bending over the deep waters and extending her hand. Sora fell under the waves, but there was no water except for where Kairi was standing, which rippled slightly. He looked up at her, noticing one difference. It wasn't Kairi. Naminé held her hand out to a falling Sora, who tried his best to reach out and grab it. Sora ended up falling continuously until he was sucked into a giant book.

Roxas burst out of the other end of the book, which bore the pod that Sora slept in for a year. He twisted forward and landed on his feet. He sensed a presence near and turned slightly to his right, seeing a girl with short black hair, decked in a Black Coat, and held the Kingdom Key at his head. Pages floated around as one specific page flew in front of Roxas, bearing a memory.

The memory was of him, Axel, and the girl eating ice cream on top of the Clock Tower in Twilight Town. The memory faded along with the girl, a single tear flowing down her cheek.

"Xion..." he said softly as the name came to him.

There was a bright light and in front of him was Axel, extending his hands as a barrier of fire exploded into being. Roxas drew his keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and charged his long time friend. Roxas leaped into the air and was about to strike downward, but the scene changed. It was of Sora and Riku fighting against Xemnas.

The two keybladers struck down on the man, only to be counted as a stalemate. Xemnas pushed the two away and leaped high into the air, extending his hands and formed a laser dome around Sora and Riku. The lasers shot out, causing Sora and Riku to deflect them at an outstanding rate of flips and turns.

There was another blinding light and Sora and Riku were kneeling on the ground, panting hard. Xemnas kneed Riku in the chest and sent him flying back. Xemnas summoned his Ethereal Blades at Sora's throat, deciding to slit the boy's area on his body. He raised his blades but Riku had Oblivion in his hand and deflected it. Xemnas brought his other hand around and slashed at Sora's back, but he evaded it. Sora landed meters away, but dashed back at Xemnas, grabbing Oblivion and firing a barrage of Light and Darkness at Xemnas, causing him to fade away.

There was another blinding light and Sora, along with Riku, were in a dark land with many keyblades stuck in the ground. They looked frantically around in search of an enemy. Behind them, an elderly muscular man materialized, causing the two to leap backwards. The man raised his hand as a dark purple orb grew in his hand.

King Mickey leaped out of nowhere and slashed at the man, turning him into pages from a book. Mickey turned around to see a pillar of rock forming high into the sky. The three of them jumped after the man, brandishing their keyblades. Mickey reached out towards the Book the Held and grabbed six pages, ripping them out. The pages zoomed through the sky, only to have familiar people leap out of them.

Out of one page came Roxas, then a man with brunette hair that looked like Xehanort's, then a young woman with short blue hair, then a boy that looked like Roxas, and the last two pages came out Donald and Goofy. They all had keyblades, except for Donald and Goofy, which were brandished at the out of view man. Sora twisted his keyblade and slashed at the air, causing an orb to form at the teeth of his keyblade. All of the other keybladers' keyblades had the same orb and they all shot into the sky, forming one giant orb in the sky.

There was yet another blinding light as Sora floated down to his mural. Next to him was Riku but he floated down right side up. Sora opened his eyes and twisted around, landing on his feet. He looked around, seeing nothing else but a blank mural and Riku next to him.

"What's going on?" he asked the silver haired teen.

"I don't know, but I think-" Riku was cut off as there were several figures materializing in front of them. There was three figures on Sora's side, and five figures on Riku's.

On Sora's side, there was Roxas, the boy who looked like Roxas, and a boy who had Sora's face and hair, except his was black. The black haired boy had on a Dark Mode suit that was similar to Riku's.

On Riku's side was Ansem the Wise, Ansem Seeker of Darkness, Xemnas, and the man whose hair was similar to Xehanort's.

Sora brandished his keyblade, the Kingdom Key; Riku brandishing his, the Way to Dawn.

Roxas' eyes widened as he saw the keyblades. He summed his, Oathkeeper and Oblivion. The boy that looked like him summoned his as well in a reversed grip.

"Wayward Wind." the boy whispered quiet enough for only Sora to hear.

The black haired boy that looked like Sora summoned his in a stance similar to Riku's.

"Void Gear." he whispered menacingly, yet there was a kind tone that slightly laced it.

On Riku's side, Ansem the Wise stood proud of the boy. Ansem Seeker of Darkness summoned his staff in a flurry of dark flames. Xemnas summoned his Ethereal Blades in a crack of electricity. The man who had brunette hair in a fashion similar to Xehanort's summoned his keyblade; it had a textured, dark brown color, with brass edges. The teeth were made of two pick-like points, with two hammer-like protrusions on the opposite side. The guard was an off-blue color, and seems to be crafted from two Omega insignias. The pommel was a dark reddish rock fragment with brass armor-like plating.

"There are somethings," Roxas said, looking at Sora with a faint smile.

"That were meant to be kept under lock and key." The boy that looked like Roxas said.

"But now, the key is placed and you two are ready to know what's inside." The black haired teen said venomously.

Sora looked around and cocked his head to the side, looking at the two look-a-likes. "Who are you two?"

"All will be explained within time." the three said in unison.

Sora looked at Riku for any type of assistance, but he just shrugged.

"Riku, you have been a good help to me in many ways." Ansem the Wise said to the silver haired teen.

"You have been in Darkness for a while. But now it's time for you to transition from Darkness to Light." Ansem, Seeker of Darkness said to the boy.

"But since you can not fully transition into Light, you may have to end up using another force." Xemnas retorted, glaring at him.

"Dawn. But you may have already known that, hence your keyblade and what you had said to Ansem the Wise a while back. 'I choose the road to Dawn'. The only way to achieve your goal is to fully awaken as a Warrior of Dawn." the brunette said, smiling at Riku then at the boy who looked like Roxas.

"Hurry up already!" Roxas and the black haired boy said simoultaneously.

"Let the Awakening commence!" Ansem the Wise said, raising his hands in the air. "You have to undergo a series of tests from us, respectively."

There was a blinding light and Sora and Riku were split up from each other.

Sora looked around, seeing nothing but his balnk mural which consisted of a sleeping Sora against a tree.

In front of Sora, a figure appeared with a Balck Coat on. The figure reached to its sides and pulled out two blades, Oblivion and Oathpeeker.

"Roxas, what's the first test?" Sora asked, looking on as his Nobody smiled in an emotionless mannor.

"Would you protect your friends at the cost of losing your life?" behind Sora, Riku and Kairi appeared, battleworn and tired.

Roxas dashed forward, heading towards Riku and Kairi. He slashed out at the two, but was caught in mid strike. Roxas looked up and saw that Sora had the Kingdom Key hooked in the groove of Oblivion and Oathkeeper. Roxas continuously hammered down on his Somebody, yet he stood his ground. Sora pushed upward and arched down, slamming Roxas into the glass floor, causing it to shatter.

There was another blinding light as Roxas coughed up blood. "Congratulations, you passed the first test. Now, continue on to fully Awaken."

Roxas vanished and in his place stood his look-a-like. He summoned his keyblade, Wayward Wind, in a reversed fashion. "My name's Ventus. Ven for short." He smiled friendly at Sora.

"Have we met before?" Sora asked, scratching the back of his head.

"When you were much smaller. Remember when you were sad, and you didn't know why?" Sora nodded slowly. "That was because my heart was incomplete and needed to be repaired. You fostered my heart and I've resided within your heart ever since."

Sora gasped. "So that was you?" Ven nodded. "And you are the next test?" Ven nodded again.

"Are you able to withstand your ground in an unfair fight?" Ven grinned and rushed Sora. Sora slashed at Ven, but he side stepped to the side and whispered something.

"Aerogen." A gust of wind nocked Sora into the air and sliced at his body, tearing his clothes as well as his flesh. Blood sprayed out as the cuts grew with every gust of wind. Sora was about to descend when Ven used the spell again, tearing Sora's clothes even more and causing more blood to spray. Ven dashed into the air after the brunette, shoving his keyblade into the boy's chest and pushing upward. He then left the air and hit the glass hard, causing a few cracks to appear. A faint light circled around him as he said two words. "Fever Pitch." The light ceased and dispersed, leaving Ventus in the midst. He leaped in the air faster than before and clashed against Sora's chest once more, but this time grabbing his collar and tossing him to the glass below.

Sora was falling head first when he thought of an idea. He twisted upright and faced Ventus. "Magnega!" A force of attraction formed in the space between the two as Sora was pulled to the blonde haired boy. He raised the Kingdom Key and slashed at Ventus, breaking his new form. This attack also caused his jacket to rip diagonally. Ven cursed under his breath as he fell and hit the glass again.

There was a blinding light again and The glass was repairing itself as Ven and Sora's clothes were also doing the same. Ven smiled at Sora.

"Congrats, Sora. You are only one step away from Fully Awakening." Ven faded away with a smile on his fa and the glass mural beneath him fully repaired for another battle. Once again there was a light and yet another figure standing before Sora.

"And you are...?" Sora cocked his head and tapped his foot.

"I am the other half of Ventus. Darker than Darkness itself. More evil than all of the Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed put together. You can address me as-" they boy was cut off when Sora rushed him and cut at his head, but the boy raised his keyblade up to deflect the attack. It was red and black with chains wrapped around it and a purple eye near the guard. "Damn it, you didn't let me finish my monologue!"

Sora tightened the grip on his blade and gritted his teeth, looking the boy straight in the face. "Do you think I care?"

The boy looked at him and took off his mask, revealing his black hair and yellow eyes. He looked exactly like Sora. "Seriously?"

Sora grinned and knocked away the boy's keyblade, the sound of metal against metal could be heard. "Nope. Never keep your down."

The boy smirked and and re-summoned his keyblade in black fire. He pushed Sora back and stood up. "My name's Vanitas. Don't you dare abbreviate it!"

"What, you mean like 'Van'?" Sora joked, taunting Vanitas.

"Wha! No, just VANITAS!" Vanitas rushed Sora, clashing blades and pushing Sora to the edge. "Are you able to keep your inner darkness while in a fight?" Vanitas' free hand was covered in Darkness and Sora's chest turned the same color. Sora's' chest tightened up as Vanitas' hand neared his chest.

Sora's eyes began to grow yellow and his clothes and skin grew black. "No, I will not let it end this way- not yet."

"Copyright." Vanitas said after chuckling. He reared his hand back and the Darkness wen't back into

"Huh?" Sora questioned his look-a-like, standing up and looking Vanitas in the eyes.

"Good job, you passed both tests. You kept the Darkness in your heart and you managed to stay in the zone during battle." Vanitas patted Sora on the back and smiled for the first time.

"Well technically-"

"DO YOU WANNA FRICKIN' AWAKEN OR NOT!" he shouted, laughing afterwards.

"You're crazy." Sora said, steeping on thin ice.

"You bet!" Vanitas laughed before turning stern once more. "You- make me feel like I have a heart."

"Copyright." Sora said after chuckling.

"Huh?" this time, Vanitas cocked his head.

"Got it memorized?" Sora said, pointing a finger at his head, smiling.

* * *

** I think that this chapter is pretty funny with Vanitas, considering that he isn't as evil as he is portrayed in the games. **

**Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are optional!**

_The Flurry of Melodious Flames_

_- Dance water! Got it memorized?_


	4. Sleeping with Eyes Open

** I'd like to thank '_VendettaValdastros' and 'emeraldsol' _for reviewing last chapter, thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney. All references pertaining to Kingdom Hearts also belong to Sqeenix and Disney.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

_Sleeping with Eyes Open_

_Riku's Heart_

_Station of Awakening_

Riku stood on his stain glass mural. It depicted him laying on the green thick leaves of the Paopu Tree out looking the morning sun as it broke through the darkness of the night. In front of him a figure came into existence, causing Riku to summon Way to Dawn.

"Who are you?" he asked threateningly. The figure became vivid as it revealed to be Ansem the Wise. He held a stack of papers in his hand and a desk materialized between the two.

"Hello, Riku. You're first test is the Written Exam. Please, have a seat and we will begin when you are ready." Riku dismissed his keyblade and walked forward and pulled out the chair to sit in. He scooted up and grabbed the pencil.

"You have all the time you need, considering that no time has passed in the Real World." Ansem gave him one sheet out of the stack and said he may begin.

"But wait, what are all those other papers for?" Riku asked, slowly pointing at the stack.

"What, these? These are the other parts of the test." he said, smirking.

Riku's jaw dropped and sweat dripped down his face. "Are you frickin' serious?"

Ansem chuckled and shook his head. "No, these are my drawing papers!"

Riku sweat-dropped and chuckled nervously. He looked back down and scribbled on the paper, causing the lead to burn on his pencil.

*two hours later*

"Done!" Riku exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

"Riku, why did it take you so long?" Ansem asked, showing the silver haired teen his drawing of a bunny eating Sea-Salt Ice Cream.

"That test was way long and the questions were really hard!" he said, drooping from exhaustion.

"Riku, there was only question, and it wasn't even a real question. It asked you to draw a picture of the meaning of friendship to you." Ansem flipped through his drawings as he chuckled.

"I know! I can't draw! At all!" Riku held up the drawing which was a beautiful sketch of him Sora and Kairi sitting on the trunk of the Paopu Tree, relaxing at the view of the sunset.

Ansem was quiet before busting out in laughter. "Riku, that drawing is amazing. Anyway, you passed. Good job!" he patted the teen on the back, who in turn was moping in a fetal position due to his 'bad' drawing.

There was a blinding light and Riku stood before another figure. It had a long staff in its hand and had long white flowing hair that ended at its lower back. The figure became vivid and showed to be Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, the Heartless insignia on his bare chest.

"Ansem." Riku spat, summoning Way to Dawn.

"Ah, Riku, my previous host. How's life been going? Oh wait, I don't care." Ansem said with an evil chuckle. He raised his double edged staff and taunted Riku. "Can you battle when you are outnumbered?"

Ansem raised his hands in the air as Darkness pooled around his feet and eventually the entire Station. There was a dome that covered the area as the only visible light source was a sliver of light coming from the unknown location high above the Station. Ansem faded into the Darkness as yellow orbs began penetrating the dome's surface.

Riku's eyes darted around as fast as he could make them and decided that he couldn't see without sufficient light. He closed his eyes as familiar black material formed from the fabric of space around his eyes. The Blindfold came into existence and Riku's eyes could see every detail of every speck of Darkness clearly. He could faintly see Ansem, for he was the thickest to be covered in Darkness. There were many Shadows and Neoshadows as the eyes multiplied by the second.

Riku readied Way to Dawn and jumped into the wall of Heartless surrounding him. The sound of flesh being torn could be heard and one by one, the Heartless began to slowly die out. Riku jumped back out, panting. He looked around for the source of the battle, but couldn't see a thing through that amount of Darkness. He dashed forward, slashing and cross-slashing along the way. Shadows and Neoshadows dashed at him but suffered the same fate.

Riku jumped back out and looked around again. There was a lot less Heartless now but there was still no sign of Ansem. "Show yourself!"

Riku saw movement out of the corner of his eye. His head turned first and then his body as he realized that it was just a Neoshadow leaping in the air. Riku tossed his keyblade in the air and grabbed its teeth. He threw it horizontally as he jumped around like a hyperactive monkey, dodging claws and awaiting for his keyblade to find its mark.

Riku kept prancing around and throwing punches at the dark demons, sending them crashing into larger groups. A click went off in his heart and his keyblade returned to him. He continued dangerously dancing around and slashing about, but he was growing fatigue.

"Ansem, show yourself! I don't have time for this!" Riku shouted, going into a frenzy again. His heart felt movement behind him and his mind told him to spin around and attack. He did so and came face to face with Ansem, his double edged Soul Eater Staff.

"It seems you prove to be capable. Congratulations." Ansem raised his hand in the air and the dome dismissed itself as well as the double edged Soul Eater Staff.

"That wasn't even a challenge." Riku said, dismissing his keyblade.

"Riku. Do not be cocky in battle as well as cocky. You must keep a level head and stay calm, otherwise your battle will be jeopardized and the chances of you dying are likely." Ansem said, fading away in black mist.

Riku sighed and wiped his head of the sweat that was starting to form. "Glad that's over. Now then, if I recall, isn't Xemnas next?"

"Why, yes fool. I am next." Xemnas said, appearing in a flurry of thorns. He summoned the Ethereal Blades and had a nonchalant look as always. "Are you able to cooperate with the most obnoxious party members?"

Next to Riku appeared a small red dragon in a puff of smoke, and an over-sized cat in suspenders, purple and red armor, and two large pockets on the cat's sides.

"Pete!" Riku shouted, catching the anthropomorphically large cat. Pete turned around and widened his eyes.

"You! You're the keyblade brat that Maleficent had under duh control!" Pete scrambled over to Riku, flaring his nostrils. He then averted his eyes from the boy to the small dragon on the other side. "I know you! You're that other keyblade brat's friend from that Chinese place!"

"Um, excuse me you fat unwanted cat. I am Mushu, Guardian Spirit! And two, that 'Chinese place' is called 'China', and it's in Asia you stupid bi-" Mushu stopped when he heard Riku's angry voice.

"Alright, that's enough!" Riku socked Pete in the jaw only to have his hand go right through him. "Damn it!"

A ball of dark energy streaked towards the trio, only going noticed by Riku. He raised his keyblade and hooked the ball in the teeth of Way to Dawn and slinging it around in a full circle before tossing it back to Xemnas, catching him off guard and knocking him over.

"The key here is teamwork, Got it? We have to work as one. Now, Mushu, I want you to attack first and then you Pete." Mushu nodded his head and Pete raised his thumb up.

Mushu leaped in the air and fired off a barrage of flames at Xemnas, who easily dodged them and shot tendrils of thorns at the dragon. Mushu couldn't dodge them in time and the thorns scratched against his scaly skin. Despite his scales being hard, the thorns cut through him like butter.

"Move out the way, short stack, I got this!" Pete yelled, throwing several fireworks and have them crash down on Xemnas. He dashed to the side and his Black Coat transformed into his Final Form which consisted of his black and white Coat that swirled. Xemnas copied himself and attacked Pete, each one slashing at him and sending him higher.

Riku cursed under his breath and jumped at Pete, grabbing his collar and sending him down at a fast rate. Unfortunately, Riku suffered the same fate that Pete was going to. The Ethereal Blades cut at Riku and burned his skin as the electricity coursed through him. He arched his back and tried his best summoning a Dark Barrier, but found that his efforts were futile. Xemnas shook his head in disappointment and tried his best to look sincere, but turned out to look the same as he always did.

"Riku, don't you know that you can't use any of your present elements during an Awakening? It nullifies all of your powers except for physical strength and any powers that belong to the keyblade. Sometimes, I don't understand how you're the smarter of your friends."

Riku narrowed his eyes in anger and tried his best to Aerial Recover and fight back, despite his current predicament. He managed to do so for several seconds before being tossed around again like trash. He managed to look down and see that Mushu was atop Pete's head, charging a flamethrower attack, while Pete made his Explosion Ball grow ten times the normal size.

"Ready, fatty?" Mushu muffled, the flame in his mouth growing bigger with every second passing.

"Ready, small fry." Pete grunted, gripping his ball tighter. **  
**

"Giga," Pete started.

"Flame," Mushu said in an awkward way of muffling.

"Ball!" Pete finished, tossing his Explosion Ball straight at Xemnas as well as Mushu releasing his fire. **  
**

_Destiny Islands: Alshata_

_Beach Front_

"Sora! Riku!" she yelled, frantically searching the waters for the two. "Naminé, do you know where they went or what happened to them?"

Naminé became translucent and looked at Kairi with sorrowful eyes. "Sora and Riku are, at this moment, going through their Full Awakening. When they are complete, they will have unlocked their hearts' full potential and become more powerful than before. With this power, they can choose to stop the Darkness and assist the Light, or stop the Light and assist the Darkness."

"So, why aren't I going through a Full Awakening right now?" Kairi asked, failure and sadness flashed over her face.

"Because, you recently got your keyblade, the Destiny's Embrace, and you haven't even started training yet. And when you have somewhat started or finished your training, depending on how strong your heart is, then you will Awaken. Once you've Awakened, you have to serve your duty as a Keyblader for a set amount of time, again depending on your heart's strength, and then you will go through a Full Awakening. But by judging your fighting skills and power, no offence, it might take a while." Naminé smiled faintly and looked out at the beach.

"We'll just have to wait it out." she said before fading back into Kairi.

"I hope it won't take long." Kairi said, trailing off into her memories of the two boys.

_Riku's Heart_

_Station of Awakening_

Riku was hunched over, his clothes torn, blood dripping down, and panting hard.

"Well," Xemnas said, panting also. "it seems that you can work with the most uncoordinated partners. Congrats, fool." He became transparent and eventually disappeared, only to be replaced with the brunette.

"Do you remember me?" he asked Riku, summoning his keyblade in a series of digital specs and white lines that streaked in the direction of the keyblade. It had that same long length and the reddish brown and fainted blue color.

"I would hope so. Considering that I'm the one that made you able to wield Way to Dawn right about now." he said with a chuckle.

"Sorry, doesn't ring an bells." Riku said, his expression dropping as he couldn't remember anything about this guy.

"Maybe this will." His lips began to move but what he said wasn't audible, just moving lips.

"Are you saying anything or are you just-" a mental wave hit Riku hard as he staggered a bit. The words his man was saying slowly became clear and he could hear.

"_-this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend—no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love._"

Riku's eyes widened as a past memory made itself known in his mind. "You, I remember you now. I was five that day. You told me to keep it a secret... to protect the world's order."

"Yes, and now you need to pass this test to unlock the secrets of the past, the truths of the present, and the events of the future." the brunette held his keyblade strongly as his muscles grew slightly bigger.

"But, I don't know your name." Riku said, eyeing the brunette. He ignored Riku's statement and leaped into the air, crashing down onto Riku as he held up Way to Dawn to parry the attack.

The brunette smirked and tightened his grip on his keyblade. "Terra."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are optional!**

_The Flurry of Melodious Flames_

_- Dance water! Got it memorized?_


	5. It's Time to Open Your Eyes

**As of now, a new poll is up! It's a poll about what are you guys, the reviewers or readers, favorite Riku pairing. **

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney. All references pertaining to Kingdom Hearts also belong to Sqeenix and Disney.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

_It's Time to Open Your Eyes_

_Station of Awakening_

_Combined Chemicals_

Riku shoved Terra off. He backflipped a few meters away and then there was a flash of light. He looked to his right to see Sora, the Kingdom Key in his right hand. He had a wide grin on his face as he gave Riku a thumbs up before looking at the brunette with a raised eyebrow.

"Who's that?" Sora asked, jabbing a thumb at Terra, who was whistling tunelessly.

RIku chuckled. "Remember when we were younger and I had to keep that secret from you?" Sora nodded slowly. "And there was that man who I was with?" He nodded again. "That's him."

"Hello, young one. My name's Terra." He said, dismissing his keyblade and walking up to shake Sora's hand. Sora looked down at the man's hand before hesitantly shaking it.

"My name's Sora." Sora looked back at Riku, who smiled lightly at him. "So, what was the secret?"

"I think I'll answer this one." Terra spoke, giving Riku a knowing look. "The secret was that I was the one who granted Riku the ability to use the Keyblade. I saw potential in him and I decided upon myself to commence a Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony. I had Riku keep it a secret to keep the World Order safe."

"So, what you're saying is... Riku is the original keyblade wielder?" Sora asked, gaining a nod from Terra. His facial expression fell before he looked at Riku with a happy smile. "Well, at least you still have the keyblade. And now, you're out of the Darkness and you are going to be the best Warrior of Dawn." Sora playfully nudged Riku's shoulder with his fist and turned back to Terra.

"So, why am I here?" he asked.

"You've already finished all of your tests, yes?" Terra asked. Sora nodded. "Then this is Riku's final test. And for his final test, you two have to team up to fight me."

"Seriously?" Sora asked, his eyes widening.

Terra chuckled at the boy's exasperation. "No, not at all. The final test is to see how strong your friendship is. Riku, the final test begins now. You must defeat two thousand Heartless together."

Terra raised his hands and the edges of the Station began to brim with Darkness. Numerous yellow eyes made themselves known and some of their owners showed themselves. As of now, there were only Shadows, but as time progressed, Neoshadows, Soldiers, and many basic Heartless showed up.

"Riku..." Sora whispered, looking around. "I've only defeated one thousand Heartless consistently like this. That means="

"Yeah. I get the other one thousand." The fabric of The Blindfold wrapped around Riku's face and he grinned. "That just means that we have to have fun with it."

"Of course." Sora said, rolling his eyes and chuckling. He scanned the are for the different breeds of Heartless and he felt his heart grow hard and heavy. He looked down to see a small amount of Darkness forming at his chest and slowly starting to spread. He looked up at Riku. "Riku, if I don't revert back after this... I- I want you to end me."

Riku's eyes widened behind The Blindfold at those words. "Sora, there won't be any need for that because the Light in your heart will always overpower the Darkness within it. Just make sure to reach out and grab it when this is over."

By the time Riku finished, the Darkness covered Sora's whole body except for his face, which his eyes were starting to grow yellow. All that was left was his mouth to be covered and he would be descending into Darkness during his Anti-Form.

"Don't worry Sora, you won't fall into the Darkness as long as I'm here." Riku brandished his keyblade and leaped into the heat of the Heartless. He slashed a Neoshadow in half and swung a Shadow into a group of Soldiers, causing a small crystal-lined heart to float into the air. Riku turned around to look at his friend.

Anti-Sora was fighting at a rapid pace, his claws tearing through dark flesh that trailed black wisps. His teeth tore through the hard layer of skin that belong to the Shadows. His head whipped around to reveal to a blindfolded Riku his yellow orbs that seemed to have a connection to the silver-haired teen.

Riku nodded in understandment somehow and leaped above the many Heartless and landed back to back with his friend. He turned to look at the yellow eyes and noddeed once more before grabbing Sora's hand and tossing him high into the air.

Riku looked on as Sora raised his dark hands above his head, creating a swirling lmass of Darkness that started out small.

Realization hit Riku hard as he began to knock the Pureblood Heartless near Sora. After reaching a certain proximity, the Heartless began to become magnetised and draw into the swirling orb, making it ever so slightly bigger with each Heartless addition.

Riku looked up at the result and sent the Heartless flying at a faster rate, every two seconds came about twenty-five Heartless into the swirling mass. He started a barrage of swift aerial attacks that consisted of upward slashes and powerful spin attacks that all led up to Riku using Ragnorak against them. Streams of Light raced towards their mark as countless numbers of the dark creatuures were sent into the Station's atmosphere.

Sora looked up with his yellow eyes to see a large mass of Darkness above his small body. He looked down at Riku, cocked his head, and then dropped the mass onto him, consuming him.

"No!" Riku shouted, reaching out at the suspended orb still floating in the same position. There was no sign of movement for several moments until Sora burst out of the orb, Darkness flying all over the Station like splattered blood. Sora landed with a loud thud as part of the glass cracked. He pushed up on one knee but feel down, exhausted. The Darkness that belonged to Anti-Form withdrew itself from Sora as it seeped into his chest.

"Sora!" Riku yelled as he ran towards his fallen friend. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him slightly, getting the brunette to blink slowly until his blue orbs darted around.

"Hey, Riku. What's up?" he asked, faintly smiling. Riku grinned and shoved Sora away playfully, but then helped him up.

"Congratulations, Riku. Sora, you too." Terra said, seeming to appear out of thin air. The two of them smiled at each other and high-fived. "And now for the Coronation."

There was a final blinding light as Sora and Riku shielded their eyes. When they removed their arms, their testers were standing in a line respectively. Roxas, Ven, and Vanitas were on Sora's side once more. Ansem, Xehanort's Heartless a.k.a. Ansem Seeker of Darkness, Xemnas, and Terra were on Riku's side.

"Congrats, man!" Roxas said, giving Sora a thumbs up.

"Good job, Sora." Ven spoke softly.

"Would ya look at that. The pipsqueak actually did it." Vantas retorted, folding his hands and looking away.

Sora smile heartily and looked at Riku.

"Congratulations, Riku. I am very proud." Ansem said.

"Insolent fools shouldn't be underestimated." Xehanort's Heartless said, scoffing.

"It seems your heart didn't lead you to obliteration." Xemnas also retorted, a faint trace of pride was in his voice.

"Riku, good job. Ven, come here!" Terra called to the blonde, who ran up to the taller, his eyes full of happiness. "It's time."

Ventus nodded his head and ran back to Sora as Terra approached Riku. The brunette and the blonde spoke simultaneously.

"You have Fully Awakened and is now ready to handle what thy heart has planned. For unlocking the hearts residing in yours alone, that is a tremendous gift, and immense power. In order to use that power, you must first understand it. Please, bow down now." Sora and Riku obliged as they held their head down in respect and bowed.

Terra and Ventus summoned their keyblades, Earthshaker and Wayward Wind, and hovered it over Sora and Riku's shoulders.

"Future and Past collide to form the Present, and now you will unfold what lies ahead. Do you, keyblade wielder, take your responsibility?" Sora and Riku nodded slightly and looked at each other, then back down. "Then I know declare thee, Followers of the Key." Terra and Ventus lowered their keyblades onto each sides of their shoulders and told Sora and Riku to rise.

They looked at each other and grinned widely. Then they looked back at the blonde and brunette, who dismissed their keyblades and held their palms out in front of their faces. They waved their palms across Sora and Riku's face as a glittering light flew across.

Sora was the first one to feel its effect for he staggered and struggled to stand up.

"Is he going to be ok?" Riku asked, darting his eyes back to Terra.

"He will be fine. He's just going through the metamorphosis, which you should be going through as well in three, two one." Terra pointed to Riku on cue and he clutched his head as he too fell.

Sora looked up and around, still in pain. He didn't see Roxas, Ventus, or Vanitas around, nor did he see any of Riku's testers. Instead, they were behind them and started phasing into Sora and Riku respectively. Memories and experiences merged into Sora and Riku as their head pounded harder. Riku was the one who collapsed first, surprisingly, and stayed there for a few moments.

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed, not being able to move.

"I- I'm fine. You should be worrying about yourself right about now." Riku said, sitting up and not in pain. He looked at Sora with a raised eyebrow as the brunette looked at him like he's seen a ghost. "What? You look scared."

"Riku... you're eyes. They're silver!" Sora said, pointing a finger at the silver haired teen's eyes.

"Well Sora, you're eyes are silver too." Riku pointed at Sora's eyes also.

"What!" Sora yelled, feeling that his head stopped throbbing.

"Yeah, you'res are silver too. I think it's the result of Fully Awakening. I guess it's the physical change that comes with it." Riku said, putting a finger to his chin.

"Correct Riku." Terra said, phasing out of Riku as Ventus phased out of Sora.

"Yeah. That's a good thing though. Since you both are Fully Awakened, you get all the powers of the hearts residing in yours alone. As for Riku, you also get the attribute of Dawn, which you will receive any second now." Ven spoke, signaling to Terra.

"Stand, Riku." Terra said firmly.

Riku obliged and stood, looking Terra in the eyes.

"You have chosen the path of Dawn, Darkness transitioning into Light. Choosing the power of Dawn is a very responsible thing to do, considering that you have been in Darkness for a while. This means that you are going to be a good Warrior of Dawn. Now then, hold your hands out and release your inner Darkness and Light."

Riku held his hands out and summoned the Darkness and Light in his heart. In his left hand was a large orb of Darkness and in his right hand was a small orb of Light.

"Now what?" Riku asked.

"Put your hands together and lift the orb into the air." Terra looked on as Riku combined his inner Darkness and Light together and lifted the orb into the air, watching it mix and become Dawn. It had a golden light pulsing in it's core as it was entangled with Darkness and Light.

The orb of Dawn transformed into a streak as it raced through the air and eventually impaled Riku in his chest, soon to dissolve in his heart. Riku clutched his chest and felt power course through him. His back arched as the power gave him slight pain.

" Don't worry, the pain will be gone shortly." Terra said, crossing his arms. "It won't be activated on will until you are in danger and the power of Dawn will protect you."

Riku realized that the pain had ceased and he looked up at Terra. "Ok."

"Well anyway, good job you two!" Ven said, smiling at Riku and Sora.

"You two have to go now, otherwise you won't be able to wake up." Terra declared, pointing up at the mysterious light.  
Sora nodded, as did Riku, and teleported out of their combined Station of Awakening, Combined Chemicals.

_Destiny Islands: Alshata_  
_Beach Front_

_April 7, 2021_

Kairi was sitting on the soft sand looking up at the blue sky as she waited for her friends to return. She noticed two streaks in the air that resembled when Sora and Riku had came back to the Islands yesterday. "Well, looks like they're here."

The two streaks crashed into the cool surface of the ocean that sent ripples heading Kairi's way. The first head to pop up out of the ocean was Sora's gravity-defying hair as he gasped for air.

"Geez, what's with us falling into water lately?" He asked, turning to Riku, whom had surfaced as well. Sora noticed that his silver eyes matched his silver hair. "They suit you."

"Thanks. But I don't think they suit you." Riku said plainly. He was right. Sora's natural blue eyes had been replaced with a knowing silver that made his face seem as if it was not his. "No offence."

"Well, thanks!" Sora said sarcastically, a hint of Roxas' sarcasm dripping with it. "I wonder if I can change them..." Sora closed his eyes and focused his energy into changing his eyes.

When he opened them, Riku widened his eyes at the change. Sora's eyes had gone from a deep blue, to a knowing silver, and now a mix of metallic silver and majestic blue. The two colors swirled in complete harmony as they balanced each other out.

"Well, I guess it worked." Riku said as he lightly shoved Sora under the water and swam towards the shore.

* * *

**Sorry for not updating in a while. So duh sorrow! Anyway, the next chapter will have about a week's time skip to make up for my absence. So, I won't be writing the ****barbecue but their parents will know. So, yeah!**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are optional and don't forget to Vote!**

_The Flurry of Melodious Flames_

_- Dance water! Got it memorized?_


	6. Excitement and Guests

**Another day in burning rain! Hello once again everyone! A few things I need to say before you read this chapter!**

**1) I am not dead! I've been at camp for a week and got ill with a virus stuck to my ribs since last Teusday.**

**2) 'Another day in burning rain' is going to be my greeting to all of you lovely people! Yes, every chapter it will be there.**

**3) The Disclaimer will be at the end of every chapter, no Copyright Issues needed here!**

**I think that's it. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Excitement and Guests_

_Destiny Islands: Expion_

_Sora's House_

_April 18, 2021_

Sora had no intention of waking up that morning. Or any morning for that matter. But there was something that caused his excitement to spike. He rose up from his bed, which was covered in blue sheets and blue pillows, and looked around. Everything was where it was the previous day, so why did it feel different?

"Sora, breakfast!" his mom called from in the kitchen. The smell of bacon and cooked eggs filled Sora's room as he jumped out of his bed in an instant. He was about to reach for the doorknob when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye on his desk. It was an upright bottle and two rolled up pieces of paper sitting next to it.

"Oh yeah." he said, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand. He then reached for the doorknob once more and swung it open. The smell of cooked food became intoxicating as Sora descended the stairs. He turned the corner and went down another flight of stairs and soon came into the Living Room, which had three couches, a TV, a coffee table, and a fan on the ceiling. He looked to the right to see his mom, Cynthia, eating with his younger sister Anna.

"Morning mom!" Sora exclaimed as he practically leaped into the seat at the table. He looked around at the mountain of pancakes and scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Good morning sweetie." Cynthia said, wiping her mouth gently with the napkin. Sora didn't let her long brunette hair, blue eyes, and fair skin go unnoticed.

"Hi Sora!" Anna said loudly, her eyes filled with happiness. Sora's six year old sister had her short blonde hair up in a small ponytail today instead of having it fall to her shoulders. Her brown eyes glistened with excitement and happiness.

"Hey kiddo! Did you sleep well?" Sora asked, stuffing his face with a pancake. Anna nodded rapidly and got a chuckle out of Sora.

"Sora, sweetie?" Cynthia called to her son, who was still eating.

"Jhesh mawm?" he said between chews.

"Where's Roxas?" she looked around before turning back to her son.

Sora swallowed and looked around also. "Good question. Where is he?"

Anna raised her hand eagerly as she wiggled around in her seat. "Yes, Anna?" Cynthia said, smiling at her daughter.

"I saw Roxas out on the roof earlier this morning! He stopped by my room and said that he was just going to get some fresh air. He should still be up there." Anna smiled widely, just like Sora. Only Cynthia's kids ever did that.

"Excuse me, mom and Anna; I'm going to check on him." Sora wiped his mouth and stood up, pushing his chair back in and heading back upstairs to his room. Sora opened the door and walked towards his window. Grabbing the top of the window and using it as leverage, Sora lifted himself up onto the small terrace that lead to the house's slanted tile roof.

"Yo, what's up?" Sora asked, walking over to his slightly transparent Nobody. He was looking out at the rising sun, considering that Sora woke up early.

Roxas barely noticed him and kept looking at the sun over the still waters.

"Earth to Roxas, hello?" Sora waved a hand in front of Roxas' face, but still got no response.

"Fine, I'll just tell Naminé your secret." Sora said, grinning as he got Roxas' attention along with a shocked look on his face.

"You wouldn't dare." Roxas said, finally making connection with his Somebody.

"Try me." Sora grinned more and realized that Roxas stopped looking at him, and started looking at his silver and blue swirled eyes. Sora's face fell and sat down next to him. "They're rejects of nature. No natural eye color is blue and silver. I'm a freak."

Roxas wasn't the one who responded, but it was Ven this time. He phased out of Sora and sat opposite sides of Roxas. "They're not rejects of nature and you're not a freak. Those eyes resemble the Full Awakening that you have gone through. Those eyes mean power, but wisdom as well."

"Even if you are a pipsqueak, you got some power from all of us." Vanitas said this as he phased out of Sora and sat behind Sora.

"Thanks you guys. Roxas, you coming or what?" Sora asked, looking back at the blonde.

"You go on ahead; I'll be there in a sec. Are we going to go practice at Alshata?" Roxas asked, not looking up.

"Well, ok." Sora got up and went through his window once more. He called out to his mom from his room and told her that he was going to Alshata, the play island amongst the many islands that belong to Destiny Islands. He slipped on his clothes, and isntead of flying like he would want to, he went out the front door and went straight for the Docks. Sora grabbed an oar and sat down to begin to row, when he saw Kairi flailing her hands and runnning towards him saying, don't go yet.

"Why not Kairi?" Sora asked as he tilted his head to one side in confusion. Kairi was panting hard when she looked up at the brunette.

"Didn't you hear? Late last night, there were sighting of a meteor crash on Alshata. The city closed of Alshata's Docks for a while." she pointed to a plume of smoke in the distance. Coincedentally, the smoke was in front of the rising sun; making it hard for Sora to see.

"Well, now I wanna go and check it out!" Sora pulled out his phone and dialed Riku's number. "Hey! Meet us at the Docks! What? You're already here? Turn around and wave?" Sora turned around slowly and saw Riku sitting on the wooden dock, his feet soaking in the cool waters. "When'd you get here, silly goose?"

Riku was about to laugh when he realized what Sora had actually called him. "What?"

"Anyway! Where's Roxas?" Sora said, averting his eyes from Riku and looking around for the blonde. He saw a transparent figure walking from the streets towards them.

"Right here. And I don't think that's a meteor. I can feel a familiar presense coming from over there. Maybe we should check it out?" Roxas suggested.

"I agree! Who knows, maybe we might find marshmallows!" Sora exclaimed, almost rowing off before Riku grabbed the boat.

"And what if we get attacked? Or what if there are Heartless or Nobodies?" Riku also suggested, looking Sora in his silver blue eyes. Sora looked back at Riku's pure silver eyes and saw a flicker of an expression on the silver haired teen's face. Sora had seen this expression before. It was when Riku had been very cautious about something, that there was a flash of steadiness and awareness.

Sora nodded and slowed his excitement down. He looked up at Kairi and she understood too. He helped her into the boat and motioned Riku to follow suit. But Riku waved them off, telling them he'd see them over there.

Sora shrugged and rowed the oars as he saw Roxas still standing on the beach, having only Riku as company.

"Roxas! Are you coming with Riku!" Sora called, hearing only a small shout, but audiable.

"Yeah! Give us a sec!" Roxas shouted back, looking back at Riku.

"You felt it too, didn't you?" Roxas asked, pointing to the smoke.

"Yeah. Do you think its-" Riku couldn't finish his sentence, but let Roxas start a new one.

"It could be. He could've met up with his Somebody and rejoined. But, there was also a small other source. I have a feeling that it's-" this time, Roxas was cut off.

"That's a possibility too. But we never know until we get there." Riku looked at Roxas as he summoned a Dark Corridor. "You go on ahead. I have some things I want to test out."

Roxas shrugged and entered the Corridor, it closing behind him. Riku looked around to make sure no one was looking and put his hand to his chest. "Warriors of Dawn, show me the rising sun in the distance." Riku felt a jolt of energy course through his body from his chest to his feet. He looked down and saw that his shoes had glowed golden with wisps of Darkness and Light circling it. "I wonder..."

Riku began walking around on the sand and found that he started to slide on the dry substance. He slowly started to push off one leg, then the other. It was as if they were gliders of Dawn. "And that's what they'll be called, Gliders of Dawn." Riku raced into the open ocean, gliding over the cool water and parting it in his wake. He could see Sora and Kairi's boat in the distance and he could feel a Dark Corridor opening near him, signaling that Roxas made it over.

"Hi Sora! Bye Sora!" Riku shouted as he zoomed past the couple's boat. The ripple behind him caused their boat to rock slightly.

"Woah! Way to go Riku!" Sora called out, nearly falling into the water. Kairi grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him back in, locking eyes. Her light blue eyes met his swirl of silver and blue. Sora leaned in and kissed her on her cheek, causing her to blush and return the favor.

"Um, if you two are done, we'd like to get this show on the road." Roxas called, causing Sora to realize that the boat touched down on the sand. He got out first and helped the girl of his life out of their shared boat.

Sora looked around at what was causing the smoke. He noticed chunks of metal were scattered everywhere and some of them were on fire. But what caught his eye was the sight of a cockpit and a few thrusters lying about.

"Are these parts of a-" Sora's eyes widened in shock at the sight off a outsider coming into orbit of Destiny Islands, of all the worlds.

"Yeah. And the worst part is, the pilot could be a threat to us. Let's see if we ca-" Riku was cut off by a voice.

"You just had to try and fly it, didn't you!" a male voice yelled from among the debris.

"Sorry! I jsut wanted to try it for the first time!" another male voice said, although this one sounded a bit higher.

"Hey, look at me, I'm sorry. I guess it really wasn't your fault and the orbit was probably too strong." the first voice said.

"It's ok! Now let's go find them!" the second voice said, sound as happy as ever.

Sora weaved through the burning debris and parts to see the owners of the voices. When he found their source, his eyes widened in shock. He saw a man with red hair, a red hoodie, white pants, and black sneakers. Then he saw a shorter man with dirty blonde hair in a mullet, a blue and white plaid shirt, black pants, and white sneakers.

When the red head turned around, Sora nearly fainted. "Ah Roxas! We've found you! Haven't seen you in a long time!"

"Uh." was all Sora could stammer out of sheer confusion and startlement.

"Oh come one, don't you remember my name?" the red head asked, bending over a bit. "I'll give you a hint but that's all you're getting. Got it memorized?"

"Don't forget me! I'll give you a hint too! Dance water, dance!" A stream of water came from the atmosphere and put out the surrounding fire. When the fire died down, Riku and Kairi could see who it was.

"Cool, the whole gang is here! Naminé, you look as lively as ever!" The red head said, looking at Kairi. She too had suffured the case of startlement and confusion. "And then there's Riku. Big, strong Riku. How's life goin'?"

Riku kept his emotionless face and looked at Sora. The brunette noticed another expression on his face, a one of confusion. Sora nodded and Riku turned back to the two.

"Don't forget me!" The dirty blonde said, popping over the red head's shoulder.

"Seriously? No one remembers us? I guess we're back at stage one." the red head said, smacking his forehead.

"Man, did they ever send the wrong guy for this one." the dirty blonde said, shaking his head.

"Here we go again. The name's Lea. Got it memorized?" the red head said, pointing to his head.

"And I'm Myde! I wish I had a catchphrase though..." the blonde said.

Lea looked at Sora with a confused look. "Roxie? You ok?"

* * *

_Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney. All references pertaining to Kingdom Hearts also belong to Sqeenix and Disney._

**Reviews are optional. Votes are optional.**

**_- Dance water! Got it memorized?_**


	7. Explain Yourselves

**Another day in burning rain! Hello once again everyone!**

**I'd like to thank you all for making this story reach 450+ views! Thanks to all of you!**

**I know I've said this hundreds of times in this story and my past ones, but I thank you all for being so helpfull during the procces of me writing this! Just reading this is good enough for me! Thanks!**

**I think that's it. Enjoy!**

* * *

_Explain Yourselves _

_Destiny Islands: Alshata_

_April 18, 2021_

"A- Axel, how are you still alive?" Sora asked, looking from the red-head to the blonde and back again.

"C'mon Roxas. You of all Nobodies should know. And the name's Lea." he retorted, folding his arms.

"And my name's Sora!" the brunette exclaimed. A light blue light encased him and Roxas came into existence. "That's Roxas."

"Same fire, different candle. So where's Ven?" he asked, looking around.

"Who?" Myde asked, looking at the red-head.

"I'm right here." the voice of Ven's came before his body did as Sora glowed once more; this time a vibrant orange. "Long time no see!"

"Yeah, it's been like what, almost ten years?" Lea asked, counting on his fingers.

"Something like that. Where's Isa?" Ven was the one to look around. "I'm sure his blue hair would've stuck out."

Lea and Myde looked away at the mention of the name. Sora, on the other hand, was eagerly curious; putting the pieces together. "Wait, if Axel's Somebody is Lea, and Demyx's is Myde, then Isa's Nobody is... Isax, no, Axis, no, Sixa, no"

"For the love of Kingdom HEarts, it's Saix!" Riku yelled, finishing the guessing game too early.

"Yeah! But he uh... what happened to him, Lea?" Myde asked, trying to jump in.

"He... didn't Merge all the way through..." Everyone fell silent as the occasional splash of waves intervened. Myde was the one who broke the silence as his stomach growled loudly.

"I'm hungry!" He wiped strands of hair out of his face as he clutched his stomach.

"Well, it is still breakfast time, so where do you wa-" Riku was cut short by Myde's stomach growling once more.

"The nearest restaurant, and fast!" Myde's stomach growled louder and he groaned slightly. His hunger was slowly eating at him from the inside out.

"Let's get him to a resturant before he starts nagging me for Gummy Bears." Lea said, half laughing. He let everyone lead the way but stopped short and turned around to look at the open sea. "I sure do hope you know what you're doing, Isa."

"Lea, you coming?" Myde called from Alshata's Docks, clutching his stomach once more.

"Yeah!" Lea called back, racing over to the Docks and getting in the boat with Myde. Sora and Kairi rode away in one boat and Riku was murmuring to himself about Warriors and distance. But soon enough, his feet grew wisps of Dawn. He then sped off over the clear blue waters and left Myde and Lea with soaked clothes.

"That kid's a real pain." Lea murmured, snapping his fingers and making his body instantly combust, drying away the water. Myde didn't even know he was wet until he saw Lea combust.

"Do you think I should get dry too?" Myde asked, looking Lea in his emerald eyes.

"It's up to you. You seem fine though, since your element is Water." Lea said, looking past Myde at the silver haired teen skating over the water and the couple rowing in the boat. It seemed so far away.

"Ok!" Myde responded, overexcited as usual. He grabbed both oars and paddled away, steering off course occasionally and getting sidetracked by the water. Lea noticed ripples in the water beneath them and glared at Myde.

"What are you doing with the water?" Lea asked, pointing down.

"Oh, I was trying to create Demyx's Clones. But so far, it hasn't been a success." Myde pointed also at the small ripples in the water and frowned. "Demyx would probably be creating hundreds of them by now."

"Hey man, cheer up. Demyx is still in there and I bet he can give you some of his skills. Wait, did he even have skills or was it just luck?" Lea joked, but not before pointing at Myde's chest.

Myde's cheeks grew red in embarrassment as he slapped Lea's finger away playfully. He looked back down at the water and saw Demyx in the clear surface. Myde noticed that Demyx's hair was still in a mullet while his was spiked in various of places. They still had their blue eyes, but Myde's wasn't filled with carelessness and questions, but with curiosity and playfullness.

"Myde?" Lea said, leaning over to get a look at his face. Myde's head shot up and looked abck at Lea with a smile on his face. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Myde continued to row the boat and soon reached the Docks where Sora, Riku, and Kairi were waiting.

"Took you long enough!" Sora said, folding his arms.

"Quiet Roxie. Where's this restaurant, Silver?" Lea asked, looking at Riku.

Riku's eyebrow twitched in irritation but dispelled it. "Follow us. Do you need a place to stay too?"

"Yes please! Can it be a hotel? I love their beds!" Myde said, jumping up and down out of sheer happiness.

"No we don't need a hotel, Myde. But yes, we do need a place to stay." Lea said, looking behind the trio to see the many buildings.

"Well, you can stay with anyone of us if you'd like. When do you think your Gummi Ship will be repaired?" Sora asked, looking at the plume of smoke again.

"Probably in a few days. Six days at most. Then we can take you to go see The King." Lea dug in his pocket in search of a certain item. After a few minutes of rummaging, he protruded a sticker with three black circles intertwined with each other. The sticker reminded Sora of a certain anthropomorphic mouse. Lea pealed the sticker off its wrapper and pasted it to his right pant leg.

"So what do you feel in the mood for, Myde?" Kairi asked, brushing hair out of her face.

"Oh man, I have no idea! I could eat anything right about now!" Myde replied, looking up into the sky for some unknown dramatic effect.

"Um, Myde? What're you doing?" Riku asked, his silver eyes meeting Myde's blue ones.

"Huh? Oh, I read that pausing dramatically makes you seem deep in thought and intelle- intelera- intellegra-" Myde fumbled for the word until Axel lent a helping hand.

"Intelligent?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's it!" Myde exclaimed this loudly and caused attention to himself by people passing. Lea scolded Myde by slapping the back of his head softly, causing Myde to stumble forward.

"Hey!" he yelled, rubbing his head. "What was that for?"

"You're making a scene. Hush. Got it memorized?" Lea said, pointing to his temple and smiling.

"We're here. The nearest restaurant. It's called Destiny's Best." Sora said, waving his hands in front of the sign about the spinning door. "It's not cheap, but from the munny I got from my journey, I should be able to pay for all of us."

"No need. We will pay for ourselves, Sora." Riku suggested, leaving the group behind to get a seat inside.

"Sora, you'll pay for me, right?" Kairi whispered, locking her fingers with Sora's.

"Of course Kairi. You'll always be before anything else." Sora said, kissing her forehead.

"I'll remember that, Sora." Kairi replied seductively, dragging Sora into the restaurant.

"Wanna go first?" Lea asked Myde, bowing sarcastically.

"It would be my pleasure, silly pyro!" Myde said happily, ruffling Lea's hair and running inside before the pyro could burn him.

Inside the restaurant, Myde's mouth dropped at the sheer amazement. The restaurant was filled with low lit lights and wooden tables that gave the place an elegant old-fashioned look. In the centre of the restaurant was a bar that had many alcoholic beverages lined up for the bartender to serve. At the tables were small lanterns that luminated the surrounding area. The whole area gave off a cozy, warm, inviting feeling to the newcomers.

"Wow. This place is amazing!" Myde said, taking in a deep breath.

"It's the best restaurant in town. But the prices are a bit high." Sora said, motioning the two to follow him as well as the silver-haired teen and the red-head girl. Very much willingly, the pyro and the water boy followed the trio to a round booth with red cushions and a single lantern in the centre of the round wooden table.

Myde was still looking around when their waitress came to take their order. She ahd curly blonde hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. She was chewing gum and had her hand on her hip. "May I take your order?"

"Sora, would you like to start?" Riku asked, still looking at his menu.

"Yea, sure. I'd like two bacon burgers, and a large water please. Kairi, what would you like?" Sora asked, looking at his girlfriend.

"Um, a ceaser salad would be nice." Kairi folded her menu and looked at the waitress with nice blue eyes. "Do you have lemonade?"

"Yes, we do. Strawberry or regular?" she asked, popping her gum in her mouth and causing Lea to jump out of alertness, him being used to fighting and sudden noises.

"Strawberry is fine, thanks." Kairi closed her menu and handed it to Sora, who put both their menus together in a stack.

"And what can I get you, Riku?" the waitress asked, blushing a bit. She didn't let Riku's eyes go unnoticed for she realized that Sora's were almost the same. _I wonder what happened to them._

"I'd just like a cup of coffee, Brittany, thank you." the blonde blushed even more as the muscular teen said those two words to her that made her heart sink.

Brittany giggled a bit before writing Riku's order down. "And what can I get you, cutie?" Brittany asked Lea this question, but he didn't notice she called him 'cutie'.

"What's your hottest meal here, Brittany?" Lea asked, smirking a bit at the group as they all sighed.

"Well, we have our 'Extra Extra Hot Lava Wings', with a side of hot sauce. But no one dares to eat them. Wait, are you going to oder them?" Brittany's eyes widened as the red-headed pyro nodded with a sly grin on his face.

"Oh wow! We haven't had someone eat those in two years! You must be a tough guy, huh?" Lea nodded once again and handed her his menu. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Um, no thanks, I think I can handle it." Lea winked at Brittany, causing her to giggle once more.

"Lastly, what can I get you?" Brittany turned to Myde. who was reading into his menu deeply.

"Uh, can I get about," Myde put his menu on the table and started to count on his fingers for several moments before placing his order. "twelve glasses of water, and a tray of fries?"

"Sure. But do you really need twelve glasses?" Brittany popped her gum again and caused Lea to jump again, the surrounding area getting slightly hotter.

"Trust me, he lives for water." Riku mumbled, rolling his eyes playfully.

"Well, ok. So that's two bacon burgers, a large water, a caesar salad, a cup of coffee, our 'Extra Extra Hot Lava Wings' with hot sauce, and twelve glasses of water with fries. Did I get all that right?" Everyone nodded and she left to tell the cook that he has a hefty order to fill.

"So, what's the problem why the King needs us?" Sora asked Lea, his silver-blue eyes gleaming with excitement.

Lea grimaced and looked at Myde, who looked down solemnly. "Well, what the King has informed us, he heard that..."

"That what?" Riku asked, leaning in closer to hear more clearly.

"That Xehanort is back." Myde said, fiddling with his thumbs and averting his eyes.

There were short gasps coming from the three teens at the mention of the man's name.

"Are you serious?" Sora asked, widening his eyes. "The only man who's been giving us trouble for the past two years is back?"

"Not the Xehanort you all know, but Master Xehanort. This Xehanort was alive back when Ven was around. Which was probably when you three were five or six." Lea said, pointing at the trio. "He plans on consuming every single world in Darkness. When that happens, he will then destroy the Worlds' Hearts and take them, starting a new era of Darkness everywhere."

"So put simply, he is trying to have World Domination?" Riku said, slightly joking.

"This is serious, but yes. Put simply, it is world domination. And he won't stop until he has every single world under his control." Myde said, putting on a serious face.

"So, where is he?" Kairi asked, still taken back from the news.

"That, we don't know." Myde said, fiddling his thumbs again.

"So, the King wants us at his Castle for what reason?" Riku asked this question in a calm yet worried tone.

"He said he wants you two," Lea jabbed his fingers at Sora and Riku. "to take the Mark of Mastery."

Riku and Sora gasped in unison and then looked at each other in shock.

"You're food is ready!" Brittany called out, carrying two large trays of plates and another waitress carrying two large trays. Brittany set down the plates she could manage while the other waitress set the rest down, including Myde's twelve glasses of water. "Enjoy!"

Sora, Rike, and Kairi didn't even notice the plates in front of them for they were still in shock.

"Well, we have to leave as soon as we can!" Sora yelled, causing people's eyes to be trained on him. Kairi put a hand on his shoulder and patted him down.

"You saw our Gummi Ship, we can't leave until that thing's repaired. Which, if me and Myde worked fast enough, should be leaving in about two to three days most." Lea took a bite out of his hot wings and sighed contently.

"Are you sure?" Myde asked, sipping his water nervously.

"Positive, got it memorized? Plus, that gives you two time to train." Lea tossed the bare bone aside and picked up another one.

"That's right, we can start training Sora." Riku sipped his coffee carefully, trying not to burn his tongue. "That way we can be ready for whatever the King has planned for the two of us."

Sora wasn't even paying attention. He was busy scarfing down half a burger in his mouth before he stopped abruptly, looking at Riku with a mouth full of food. "Wrut wrid wrou shay?"

"Sora, chew your food first. I said we can start training in the mean time." Riku shook his head in pity at the hungry brunette but chuckled shortly after.

"Oh, right!" Sora swallowed his food fast and looked back at his best friend. "Does that mean we can fight each other like you promised?"

"Just like I promised." Riku narrowed his eyes intimately and Sora glared back with his silver-blue orbs back at the teen.

"Uh, sorry to bring this little rivalry thing to an end, but keep in mind that we are at a restaurant. I don't want to see slashes on walls or blood on the floor, got it memorized?" Lea pointed a wing at his temple instead of his finger.

"Yeah, we 'got it memorized'." Sora said sarcastically, causing Kairi to giggle.

"Watch it Roxas, I don't wanna fight you either. Especially how the last time we fought turned out." Lea warned, the surrounding area grew slightly higher in temperature.

"Is that a challenge, Lea?" Sora said, slightly taking on Roxas' voice.

"In every way, shape, and form. But I don't want to pay for damage to this nice place, got it memorized?"

"Speak for yourself," Sora's voice changed completely into Roxas' voice, sarcasm and all. "do you have it memorized?"

"Oh I know I do, but I dunno about you. Do you have it memorized?"

"I sure do, but do yo-"

"Can both of you please keep the ranting to a minimum?" Riku intervened, sipping his coffee once more.

"Bite me." Sora said, his voice changing back to his own slowly.

* * *

_Disclaimer: Anything Kingdom Hearts related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I own nothing except for the OCs and story line._

**Reviews are optional. Votes are optional. **

**_- Dance water! Got it memorized?_**


	8. Insight

**Another day in burning rain! Hello once again Homies!**

**So apparently, 'The Assasin's Flower' didn't go as planned. The details didn't go over smoothly with my assoiciate, so here's what I'm going to do:**

**Step 1: Change that story and rewrite everything**

**Step 2: Take a break and eat some cookies NOM NOM NOM**

**Step 3: Make the new story into a funny one with Organization XIII**

**Step 4: That's it...**

**Anyway, I also plan on changing my Username from 'THe Flurry of Melodious Flames', to 'LighthouseBC'. That name was a running nickname for me a while back, so I'm going to use it now!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_Insight_

_?_

_?_

A dark figure walked down the rainy streets of a dark city. He had on a long overcoat with clothing that matched with his age, old. He walked until he reached a street lamp. The glow was the only thing that was an addition in this gloomy city. He stood there, waiting in the rain for something, or someone.

In the light, the man was bald with a gray beard. He had yellow-orange eyes and hunched over with his hands behind his back. He had a crooked smile on his face.

Footsteps were made as leather boots hit the wet asphalt. The owner of these boots was shrouded in a dark coat. The hood covered his face but a faint smile could be seen on his face. He crossed his arms and looked at the old man.

"You're late." the elderly man said, scoffing.

"As if! You're just early." the hooded man retorted, tilting his head to the side to relax the muscles in his neck.

"Is he with you?" the elderly man asked. He looked around slightly but saw no other person with the hooded man.

"Does it look like it, old man? If he were here, he'd be talking to you now." the hooded man scoffed and turned around, seeing a swirling silver portal appear a few feet near them. Out came another hooded figure, though this one wasn't as tall or muscular than the other. The newcomer pulled of his hood to show spiked silver hair with golden auburn eyes. He had tan skin and a smirk on his face.

"My, my, my. You've grown a lot you ol' sack of key chains." the newcomer said to the elderly man.

"Well, I wouldn't speak too soon. I need you to do something for me, I mean us." he said, straightening his back.

"What is it? Time doesn't tick for others." the tan-skinned newcomer said.

"I need you to find the others." he stated simply that. "Bring them to me so that we can finally begin the destruction."

"Slow your horses, big guy. What if they didn't Merge? What if their Nobody is still wandering the worlds in search of their Somebody?" the taller and more muscular hooded figure asked this in a sarcastic tone, yet he was serious.

"Bring them both. The amount of time it takes does not matter, as long as they get here. Once they are all here, we can start."

"Fine with me. What about you?" the young person said, turning to the taller hooded man.

"Doesn't matter to me, kid." he lifted his hood to show black and white hair in a pony tail, fair skin, a scar on his chin, golden-auburn eyes, and a smirk.

"Good, now I leave you two to it." the elderly man vanished in a flurry of dark wisps, leaving the two to leave.

_Destiny Islands: Expion_

_April 19, 2021_

After their little dinner and occasional battery, Sora, Riku, and Kairi showed Lea and Myde around the town. Since Lea hadn't been on Destiny Islands since he was in the Organization, it seemed a little far-fetched how they can advance the technology that quickly.

"So what you mean to tell me is, after I kidnapped Kairi, no offense," he nodded to Kairi in advance. "that this town has advanced this much since the last time I- Axel was here?"

"You got that right. When I left to end the Organization, I heard that Destiny Islands had started construction early. And Kairi told me that it took them a few months." Sora looked to the female red-head, smiling.

"Wow! This place is so cool!" Myde jumped up and down slightly in sheer excitement. "So, um, where do we stay in the mean-time?"

"There's a hotel not very far from all of our houses. I know the owner so I can get you in free." Riku said as he pointed at a tall luxurious building in the distance.

"Thank Silver." Riku glowered at Lea when he said that. "Myde, let's go check out this hotel."

The pyro and the liquid master left the trio in the same spot. Roxas and Naminé also appeared and stood next to their significant other.

"Do you really think Lea's gonna finish the Gummi Ship?" Roxas asked, putting an arm on Sora's shoulder.

"Of course not. He's gonna be as lazy as Sora and slack off." Riku said, smirking at the brunette, who was glaring at the silver-haired teen.

"Well, we can just hope that they do finish, right?" Naminé asked, looking around.

"That's all we can do." Kairi responded. She looked at the scraps of metal in the distance. "I doubt they'll finish."

*One Week Later*

"C'mon! Just one hit!" Sora whined to Riku. They were on Alshata's beach front with Kairi sitting in the shade watching the two.

"No Sora. You can't just want to hit sand to strengthen your hands out of the blue like that." Riku folded his arms and sighed.

"Well how do you get your hands to be so rough?" The brunette asked, pouting.

"I practice martial arts, Sora. I've told you this a thousand times." Riku sighed again.

"Well can't you teach me something? At least one thing!" Sora looked into Riku's silver pool eyes with his silver-blue eyes.

"Sorry, but I can't. If I do, you wouldn't le-"

"Can you two be any more obnoxious? Shut up!" Lea yelled from under an unfinished Gummi Ship. So far, it has made progress but not as much as Sora and Riku had thought.

"Well geez, someone is a bit cranky today." Riku said sarcastically, causing Sora to snicker.

"It's not my fault that I couldn't start a fire this morning! The stove in the hotel kitchen wouldn't light and there was nothing else! The woman manager person said I couldn't use it because she was afraid I might burn down the place. Pfft, whatever." Lea slid back under the ship and smelted two metal pieces together.

"It's true! And when he tried it the first time, I had to put it out. Then the woman came." Myde said cheerfully as ever. He doused out the molten metal and it cooled instantly. That had been his job for the past week for the two to get the exterior and the controls back online. Well, at least the important parts.

"I can only imagine." Roxas said, phasing out of Sora. He looked at Kairi as Naminé phased out as well. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Hey shut it Roxie. You don't know what it's like to not set a fire." Lea retorted, sticking his tongue out.

Roxas shook his head and smirked at the pyro. He noticed the skies getting slightly darken by the second. Roxas turned to Sora with confusion on his face. "What time is it?"

Riku answered for Sora, who took way too long to respond. "It's a little after one. Why?"

"Because the sky doesn't get dark until later. So why is it getting dark now?" Roxas pointed a finger at the darkened sky, purple tinged clouds hovered about.

Riku sniffed the air and then Roxas. "You smell that, Roxas?"

"Yeah. That's not a good sign." Roxas phased back into Sora as he looked up at the clouds.

"Ven, Vanitas, Roxas, what's going on?" Sora asked as Ven and Vanitas phased out in red and orange light.

"I don't know. But it doesn't look good." Ven replied.

"Obviously its signs of immense Darkness. I'd recognize that scent anywhere." Vanitas retorted, crossing his arms.

"Well why is there Darkness here? Didn't we seal this keyhole?" Sora asked, pointing to a faintly visible outline in the sand of a keyhole.

"I would've sworn we did. But nonetheless," Riku summoned Way to Dawn in a flurry of Dawn wisps. "we can't let them take over Destiny Islands."

Sora agreed and summoned the Kingdom Key. He nodded as he saw the first Heartless drop into the ocean miles away. He turned to Lea, who was still working.

"Lea, you think you can hurry up?" Sora asked.

"I'm going as fast as I can! Plus I've gotta get the right hook-ups to fly this thing. Got it memorized?" he shouted.

"Yeah We've got the damn thing memorized! Just hurry the hell up!" Vanitas snapped and summoned a transparent version of the Void Gear. Ventus summoned Wayward Wind to his side.

"Just because we're not solid, doesn't mean we can't fight." Ventus smiled at Sora and Riku, readying his backward keyblade.

Sora noticed a few more Heartless dropping, this time it was getting closer to the shore. "Here they come."

"3." Riku said, focusing his energy.

"2." Sora said, brandishing his keyblade.

"1." Ventus finished.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Vanitas said dramatically, slashing at a Shadow before it touched the ground. "let the games begin!"

The four keyblade weilders dashed forward, slashing at the various Heartless that desceneded from the dark heavens above. Sora used Strike Raid to get rid of ive Heartless while Roxas unleashed a flurry of his lightning fast attacks, smasking them around and then dispersing beams of light. He hooked the Oblivion around a Soldier's neck and slung it towards Ven.

Ven placed a hand over his chest and two thin beams of light encircled him. "Sky Climber!" There was a flash of light and Ventus had a faint purple glow as he skyrocketed into the dark skies, slashing at Heartless that crossed his keyblade's path. Vanitas looked up at his counterpart and smirked, firing off a Dark Firaga at a syndicate of Neoshadows.

Sora had no trouble at all keeping the pace of destroying these Heartless. But he did turn to see if Kairi was alright ever so often. "Lea!"

"What is it?!" He cried out, trying his best to defend the ship and repair it at the same time.

"Do you think you can hurry up?!" Riku yelled, slashing at the head of a Large Body, only to be knocked away by the Heartless' brute force.

"I"m goin' as fast as I can! Don't rush perfe- BURN!" He extended his hand and a wide wall of fire rose out of the ground and pushed forward, incinerating all in its path.

"Thanks Lea!" Ven called out, looking out for Heartless with Vanitas and Roxas while the others got into a small group.

"Kairi!" Sora yelled, motioning her to come. She got up unsteadily and ran as fast as she could towards them. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough. A large group of Shadows surrounded her and she gave a yelp of distress.

"KAIRI!" Sora yelled at the top of his lungs, but it was no use. The Heartless started to inch closer to the red-headed girl, twitching like their usual state. Kairi was shaking violently out of sheer fear, trying to find a safe spot to escape. But the Heartless were all around her, and they were multiplying at a rapid pace. She cried out once more time as they pounced on her, no form of color could escape the darkness of the Shadows.

Kairi was trying her best to punch at the mindless creatures, but they all went astray and hit the thin air where a Shadow used to be.

"Why are there so many of them on her!?" Sora yelled, looking at Riku.

He grimaced and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You do know that she's a Princess of Light, right?"

Sora was quiet for a moment before that fact proccessed into his brain. He sweat-dropped and laughed sheepishly like he usually did when things got awkward. "But shouldn't we help her?"

"Nah, she can handle herself." Lea said, smirking. He summoned his twin chakrams just in case and Myde his sitar, Arpeggio.

**KHKHKH**

Kairi was starting to sweat. She needed to find a way out and punching definitely wasn't an option.

_How do I get out!?_

_Come with me. Take a Dive to your Heart._

She was startled when a voice actually answered her silent question. It didn't have any tone of voice but she knew she could trust it. It was a gut feeling she had.

_Ready Nam?_

There was no responce so she tried again. _Nam?_

There was a sense of drowsiness and nastalgia as she felt her eyelids close shut. Her body was encased in a thin skin-tight layer of Light to protect her from the Darkness of the Heartless.

* * *

_Disclaimer: Anything Kingdom Hearts related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I own nothing except for the OCs and story line._

**Reviews are appreciated. Votes are appreciated.**

**- Stay burning, Homies!**


	9. Flowers to Compensate

**Another day in burning rain! Hello once again Lighters!**

**Holy Cows! I'm so sorry for not updating in such a long time! I've been busy with school, and I'm getting an XBOX360 next week (I know, kinda late). So a lot of things have been going on! Trust me, I'll try to fit in a schedule that can appeal to both me and you guys!**

**ALSO! I have a YouTube account! So far, it's only music on there, but I'll put some other stuff on there too! I'll put the link in the bottom of the chapter! Go check it out! It'd help me alot!**

** I'd like to thank:**

**- riku'sgirl19**

**- Nf2752**

**- LunaClefairy **

**for reviewing last chapter! You three are the Lighters of last Chapter! Hurr hurr hurr :3**

**Anyway!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_Flowers to Compensate_

Kairi kept floating down in the cold water. She had no idea what was going on, nor how she got there. All she knew was that she could breathe in this mysterious water...

She opened her eyes and realized she was floating head-first into the dark abyss. She turned herself right-side up and slowed her descent. Kairi squinted when she thought she saw a glimpse of light, but was only mistaken by her imagination. She just felt like it was going on forever, there being no end to this constant descent.

But then, as if the worlds wanted to prove her wrong, she felt her feet touch against a hard surface. She stopped descending and she looked around to see nothing, but there was something. Suddenly, dozens of doves exploded from the ground, scattering about in the sky. She looked up in sheer awe and smiled.

_Ah, I see you've made it... _

There was that unseen voice that she heard again. It was the same female voice as before. "Who's there?"

_No need to fret little one. You haven't changed at all since I last saw you. How old were you then, 4?_

"Wait, have we met?" Kari asked, still looking around for the owner of the voice.

_Yes, we have. A long time ago. _

Kairi put a finger to her chin and pondered her memories. "Wait a minute... Were you the one who sa-"

_Yes, I am. You gave me a bouquet of flowers. And now, the time for you to Awaken is now. Dream with your eyes open and your Heart free. Step forward._

As soon as the voice said that, a mysterious light descended from the dark skies to one specific spot. Kairi complied and walked forward to the light. Around her, small stone pedestals rose from the ground. There were three, one in front of her, in to her right, and one to her left. Each holder held a weapon, a sword, a staff, and a shield.

_Choose wisely, young one..._

Kairi looked skeptically at the three weapons. She felt her heart pull to the shield and she walked towards it, still unsure of the outcome. She grasped the edges of the shield and pulled it out of its suspended hovering.

___The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the weapon you desire?_

Kairi nodded in response to the voice and it was absorbed into her chest, a feeling of protection overwhelmed her. She turned around to see the other pedestals still holding their weapon.

_Now, what will you give up in exchange?_

Kairi looked around once more, going over her choices in her head. _Hm..._

She decided to take the sword, feeling that it posed too much danger towards herself.

_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the form you choose?_

Kairi nodded again and the sword also dispersed into small specs of light.

_Your path is set. The road ahead of you will be trying, but keep your light shining and you can overcome anything._

Glass stairs appeared at the edge of the platform and the red-head walked towards it, curiosity and fear filled her heart. Kairi looked around to make sure that those stairs were secure. After checking and found that it indeed was secure, she placed one foot after another on the glass stairs. In a moment's time, she reached the top of the platform. Kairi was greeted by the warmth of the descending light and the soothing voice that belong to the mysterious woman.

_Now it's time to test your skills as a swordsman. Or in this case, 'swords-woman'. _

Kairi chuckled at the comment that was made before noticing black pools forming at her feet. Instinctively, she leaped back. Suddenly, their was an increase in weight in her right hand. She looked down and saw that the sword she saw before was slowly processing as the wisps of light ascended the blade slowly.

Kairi looked back up and saw that the black pools stop growing and Heartless started to appear out of them. Only Shadows could be seen, but there was an abundance of them for sure. Kairi's expression fell as she saw the amount of enemies, and her still 'loading' weapon. "C'mon! Hurry up sword!"

_Give it time to get used to the great amount of light in your heart. With you being a Princess of Heart, it takes a longer amount of time. Be patient, and you'll pull through._

"I dunno how much longer I can be patient! Those Heartless are getting closer by the second!" Kairi yelled as panic invaded her face like an unseen storm. She looked down at the blade to see that it was nearly complete, with the exception of the very tip. That very tip was stalling her from saving her own skin, and it was irritating her like hell. "Finish already, you stupid sword!"

Just as those words came out of her mouth, the glow that was emitting from the sword, went from mid-blade to the beginning of the pommel. "Oh come on!"

_Destiny Islands: Alshata_

_Beach Front_

_April 19, 2021_

"Kairi!" Sora screamed. He dashed forward and brandished his keyblade, the Kingdom Key. A soldier leaped at him, but Sora deflected the claws of the Heartless, leaving it temporarily suspended. Sora flicked his wrist and spun his keyblade into a reverse grip, slashing upward at the chin of the Heartless. The Soldier was sent flying past a syndicate of Shadows as it hit a sand dune. "Get outta my way!" Sora maneuvered his way through the heap of Shadows until he couldn't see anymore.

"I said out!" Sora yelled once more, but this time, his silver-blue eyes glowed a a faint white color. Not only did his eyes glow, but also his keyblade as Sora felt a pulse deep within him that grew heavier each second.

"Woah, what's going on with Spiky over there?" Lea asked after he threw one of his chakrams. When he said this, Sora's eyes and his keyblade made a quick flash of red then back to white.

Vanitas' transparent figure flickered for a moment before he was outlined in red, the same shade that flickered on Sora's keyblade and in his eyes.

"Well," Vanitas said, sighing. "Guess I'm up."

"Wait, what do yo-" Myde was cut off when Vanitas suddenly appeared next to Sora back to back.

"Ready?" Vanitas asked, a sinister grin on his face appeared.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Sora said, sighing to clear his thought.

"Ready," Vanitas said, going from a grin to a smirk.

"Set," Sora said, brandishing his keyblade.

"Go!" Vanitas yelled, dashing into one side of the army of Heartless while Sora the other. They both slashed wildly, Vanitas seeming to be stronger than his slightly transparent previous form. He leaped into the air and swung his keyblade, Void Gear, in a wide arc. Dark Lightning shout out of the atmosphere and vaporized the locked-on Heartless. He fell down to the sand and caused a massive shockwave, in the shape of a sphere, of Dark Lightning to take stand. It spread out to a wide radius and took out nearly all of the army. But as soon as they went down, more started to leak from the dark heavens where the purple clouds cried tears of Heartless.

"Well then," Riku said, standing dumbfounded with Ventus, Roxas, Myde, and Lea.

"That was, uh," Ventus said, leaving his mouth gaping.

"Unexpected?" Myde asked.

"Totally." Lea and Roxas said in unison.

Sora performed spiral drill attacks numerous of times with his keyblade to destroy the abundance of Heartless, yet it didn't seem to be enough. "Guess it's time to try something new." He slashed diagonally in the air and leaped through the seam. Once airborne, Sora slashed at the air below him and made an 'x'. Before going through the space rift, Sora went higher in the air and pointed his keyblade as steadily at the 'x' as he could. Once lined up, he flicked his wrist and caught the handle in a forwards grip. Throwing it like a javelin, the Kingdom Key sped off into the space rift of the 'x', and came out of the lower slash, sticking itself straight up. Sora flipped to have his head face the ground and kicked off of the air, gaining immense speed until he entered the space rift.

It was dark except for a faint light in the distance. But that image was only for a brief moment until he flipped himself fight-side-up and came out the other end. His feet made contact with the guard of the Kingdom Key and dug it in more into the sand. Sora crouched while he balanced on the keyblade and time slowed down. He looked up with a jolt and a white light flashed in his eyes.

"Light's Shockwave." Sora said in a low voice. There was a momentary pause before an immense sphere of Light spread throughout the area. Sora looked over to where Vanitas was and saw that his sphere was still lingering and spreading at a slower rate. "Well, I guess they'll merge!" Sora yelled out to Vanitas, catching his attention.

"Yeah! I was hopin' they will!" He yelled back, grabbing a Neoshadow by it's attenae and sending it towards Sora, where it collided with the shockwave and boosted the area of the sphere.

Sora gasped at the sight. "It grows when it comes in contact with Darkness! Quick, Van! Throw s'more Heartless!"

Vanitas' eyebrow twitched at the name, yet complied, tossing Heartless like a catapult while spinning and dancing about.

_Dive to the Heart_

_Kairi's Heart_

_?_

"Why won't you work sword?" Kairi said in agitation. She touched the blade with a delicate finger and the glow from the sword immediately grew straight to the tip of the sword, glowing in completion in a faint pink aura. "Finally." She said with a smile.

Her heart skipped a beat as she felt a connection from the sword to her heart. Her hand tightened on the handle and her legs dropped, getting Kairi into a crouch. She had no control over her body. Instead, her body lead her into the heat of the Heartless, acting on its own and slashing at a Shadow without her thinking about it.

A Shadow sank into the ground and reappeared behind Kairi, extending its claws to slash violently at her. Though, when its claws made contact, it made a spark and a thin film of Light flickered as if it were a glass barrier. She whipped around fast and stabbed the Heartless with swiftness. "Better be faster next time!"

*Le Time Skip*

Kairi grabbed the head of a Soldier and threw it hard against a Shadow, which was unexpected of her to involuntarily do. Even if she still had no control of her actions. The remaining Heartless dissipated into wisps of Darkness and she was alone again with only the looming voice.

_You've done well. I see that the Light in your heart is very over powering and seems to take control. That will be corrected along your journey. But as of now, you are an official Keyblader. _

The voice drifted away and a transparent figure appeared across from Kairi. She had short blue hair, blue eyes, and tights with pointed shoes. In her hand was the keyblade that Riku gave Kairi.

"Isn't that-"

"Yes, it is, Kairi. Please step forward." The female said. Her voice and the looming voice were identical and Kairi left her brain to fill in the blanks. She complied while she was thinking and instinctively knelt down in front of the female.

"In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend—no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love." she looked down at Kairi. "Do you promise to fulfill your destiny as a Princess of Heart, and as an official Keyblader?"

Kairi nodded and looked at the keyblade in her hand. It was very familiar to Kairi.

"Then your path is set. Please, take this keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, and start your journey..." Her voice began to fade away and all that was left was a floating keyblade.

"Wait! I forgot to ask. If it's not too much trouble, what's your name?" Kairi asked in the most respective tone. She grabbed the handle of the keyblade and let her arm slump down, her body catching up to the nearly absent fatigue and pain.

_My name? Well, my name is Aqua. Master Aqua._

* * *

_Disclaimer: Anything Kingdom Hearts related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I own nothing except for the OCs and story line._

**Reviews are appreciated. Votes are appreciated.**

**youtube dot com /user/xXIncoendoXx **

**- Stay burning, Lighters!**


	10. Thanks

**Good Lord! I've changed my username more than enough times! But this is the last time... I swear.**

**Holy f***! I've been gone for too long! Personally, I blame you guys for not reviewing... But here's what I'd actually like to say. Thanks to all you readers, reviewers, PM'ers, and Favoriters, we've reached:**

**1,229 Views**

**4 Favorites**

**8 Alerts**

**12 Reviews**

**To me, that means a lot. And I'd like to thank each and every one of you guys who contributed to the success of this story. This story is by far the most successful out of all my stories. I love you guys and once again, thanks!**

**I promise, I will try to be more, consistent - for lack of a better word- with the updates!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_Thanks_

"Well then," Vanitas commented, still twirling around and tossing Heartless in Sora's general direction. He noticed a small flash of light out of the corner of his eye and turned around fast to see what it was. "Sora?"

"Yeah?" He called back, slashing at the Heartless that got near to him. He started to sweat, which was very rare to see since he had saved the worlds twice.

Vanitas didn't say anything, but instead he pointed at the small flash of light that he saw. Sora's heart skipped a beat as he felt a familiar presence within the light. When he confirmed the feeling, a wide grin appeared on his face as he gave Vanitas one of his cheeky smiles.

"Is it her?" Vanitas asked, relaxing his face to make it return to its natural nonchalant state.

Sora nodded eagerly and looked at the light then back at his companion with sad eyes.

"Oay, okay, you can go. Just don't get hurt. And remember, stranger danger!" Vanitas shouted as he saw Sora running towards the light. Vanitas leaned against his keyblade after he dug it into the sand. "Ah, they grow up so fast." A Shadow formed at his feet but Vanitas kicked it hard and sent it to oblivion. "Ah."

Sora bounded across the beach like a love-struck puppy. Of course, that was true except he... wasn't a dog. His keyblade dispersed and he shoved aside any Heartless that got in his way from him being next to that person.

When the light finally faded, it left an unconscious Kairi lying on the sand in a comfortable position, Destiny's Embrace being held firmly in her left hand. When Sora saw her, he was filled with excitement, but also confusion as he cocked his head to the right. "You're left handed?"

Kairi slowly opened her eyes to see the mass of spiky brunette hair that belong to the love of her life. But once Kairi tried to smile, pain shot through her body like an arrow through the air. She winced and tightened her grip on her keyblade for some odd reason.

"Kairi, are you okay? Here, let me heal you. Cura-" But Sora never got to finish his spell. Within Kairi's keyblade were small pores that opened up. Those pores leaked out a thin green mist that lingered around the surrounding area of Kairi. In a mater of seconds, the mist seeped into Kairi through her soft peach skin and healed her from the inside out.

Sora stood, dumbfounded at the sight of his girlfriend healing herself while she was unconscious. "I wish I could do that."

Within seconds, Kairi gasped for air as her lungs reopened and her body lurched upward. Her mouth was open but no sound was coming out. Her eyes were closed as well and the green mist dispersed into vapor. Kairi gasped for air as she opened her eyes and saw the brown gravity-defying mass that stood proud atop Sora's head. Once she saw his blue-silver mixed eyes, she smiled.

"You're back." He said calmly. Extending his hand to help her up. She took it firmly and the grip she had on him shocked the boy. When Kairi released his hand, it slowly regained its color after having the blood cut off momentarily. "Good Kingdom Hearts! Kairi, when'd you get that much power?"

"Sora, I thought you of all people would know how and when. I mean, you went through it yourself." She raised her left hand and showed Sora her keyblade, Destiny's Embrace.

"Wow, I guess I kinda didn't notice." He said, chuckling sheepishly.

"Well, sorry to rain on your parade, but we still gotta get out of here!" Lea called to the two as he was still keeping the Heartless away from the group and the ship. Myde, Riku, Ventus, and Roxas were still fighting. Although Roxas and Riku were perfectly capable of handling themselves.

"He's right, now isn't kinda the time for more reunions!" Vanitas yelled, launching three spheres of fire that followed their target and eliminated the selected Heartless.

Sora looked back at the red-headed girl and gave her his trademark goofy smile. "C'mon, we can take 'em."

*Two minutes later*

Sora was panting hard and hunched over against his legs, Riku was barely holding up, Kairi looking at her keyblade very intentively, Vanitas and Ventus were slumped against each other, Roxas was laying flat on the sand and looked like he was sleeping, Myde gave up and was sitting on a high ledge playing music, and Lea was playing with a single flame.

"Well, that escalated rather fast." Lea said, tossing the flame into the air repeatedly.

"Yeah, I can't believe we did all of that within the course of two minutes." Vanitas responded, pointing to the beach front. There were various craters with shards of glass, burned sand that was turning into glass, chunks of ice, large areas of wet sand, pools of darkness, pools of light, an actual pool that the group made, and a trench.

"I just don't know why we made that pool." Roxas said, sitting up.

"Who knows? But at least we can leave now."

"Uh, guys?" Everyone turned around or sat up and looked at Lea. "You do know we could've escaped a long time ago, right?"

Everyone had a facial expression of disbelief, but one by one they all sweat-dropped.

"So are we gonna leave before another wave comes in, or what?" Lea asked, leaning against the metal of the Gummi Ship. Everyone nodded and rushed into the ship. Inside was bigger than what it looked like from the outside. Right when you walk in, there's a large kitchen to the left, a lounge area to the right, and a hallway that have many rooms on either side.

"Wow, how'd you two repair all of this so fast?" Sora asked, looking at the familiar ship that reminded him of his own.

"Well, we just put the metal back together. The ship itself did the interior all over again. So it's like it's alive." Myde said, pushing the button to close the seal to outside.

"This is really cool!" Kairi yelled, hearing a slight echo throughout the ship.

"Now then, let's get outta here before Destiny Islands gets destroyed... again." Riku stated, a sorrowful look on his face as he stared out of the window at the now heavily darkened islands.

"Yeah, let's go." Roxas said, turning around and heading to the kitchen.

***Much Later***

"Roxas!" Sora yelled from the lounge area. He was sitting on the red couch in front of the table playing Battleship (Sponsor) with Riku on his team against Vanitas and Ventus on the other.

Roxas came out of the hallway that held many rooms and was rubbing his head. His hair wasn't in the usual 'to-the-side' fashion. Instead, it was flat on his face and he had bags under his eyes. "What is it?"

"Tell me if I sunk his battleship or not 'cause Van is a cheater!" Sora yelled, pointing a finger at Vanitas.

"How many freakin' times do I have to tell you... MY NAME IS VANITAS! V-A-N-I-T-A-S! GOT IT MEMORIZED?" Vanitas yelled back, pointing at his look-a-like. Ever since he became an entity, or transparent spirit and an actual being when Sora wills, Vanitas has been more calm, for the most part. He has become less 'evil' and is refraining from using his Darkness, a difficult road to travel. Also, his attire has changed since then. Instead of his Dark Suit, he had on a black tank top with the Unversed symbol in red, black baggy pants, and white combat boots.

Roxas swayed over to the table, examined Vanitas' side, then Sora's, then back to Vanitas', and looked at Sora with an all too knowing look that only Sora understood. It was more like an telepathy link that he and Roxas had. "Honestly, I don't really care."

"See! He doesn't care! Which means that we can continue!" Vanitas said, sitting back down from the force of Ventus' hand on his shoulder.

"Sora, honestly, let's finish this game up." Riku said, rubbing his temple slightly. "I wanna shower too."

"Well, actually, I lied. Sora did sink one of your battleships." Roxas admitted, walking away with his hands behind his back.

"Hah! See! I told you I was right!" Sora pointed at Vanitas again but was pushed down by Riku, who in turn got up and left. "Where ya goin'?"

"I'm going to go wash up and see what everyone else is up to." Riku walked away with his hands behind his head and a tired look on his face.

"I guess we all better turn in too, huh? I mean, it is one thirty in the morning." Sora said with a wide yawn.

There wasn't a response from Ventus or Vanitas as they phased back into Sora, him yawning again. He walked down the hall that had many rooms on either side and picked one that wasn't taken. The room on his right held Kairi, on his left held Riku, in front held Lea, and to Lea's left hed Myde.

Sora took a step closer to his room and the metal sliding doors opened rapidly. He walked in slugishly and practically slid onto his bed and under the covers. Sora turned to look on his night-stand and saw a small PDA that was connected to all of the rooms in the ship. He tapped it once and it made a _beep _noise. "Guys?"

"Yes Sora?" Kairi said from her room.

"What is it?" Namine asked, sounding a bit cautious.

"Wha'ts up?" Riku responded, sounding like he couln't sleep.

"Yea Roxie?" Lea said sounding odly cheerful.

"Yes?" Myde asked, sounding groggily.

Sora chuckled at all of the responses as Ventus, Vanitas, and Roxas came into existence. "On three... Three."

"Thanks guys." The four of them said in unison, chuckling after. Everyone else joined in before Riku asked a question.

"For what guys?"

"For being there for me." Sora asid, smiling.

"And me." Roxas added.

"And me!" Ventus piped in.

"And me, I guess." Vanitas retorted.

"No problem!" Myde and Lea said almost in unison.

"Any time bro." Riku said, smiling to himself.

"Yeah, no problem." Kairi said, with Namine giving a slight grunt.

"Oh wait! I need to thank you guys, well more or less celebrate, one more thing!" Roxas yelled catching everyone's attention. Everyone was silent as Roxas was about to speak. "Thanks to all the viewers, critics, and people who favorited so far! You guys rock! I would give you all a hug but... yeah."

Everyone broke out in laughter before all telling each other good night and falling asleep.

* * *

**Honestly guys, I thank each and everyone of you for helping me out so far. Especially the one's who've been with me since the very begining. You know who you are. Thanks.**

**Reviews are appreciated. Votes are appreciated.**

_Disclaimer__:__ Anything Kingdom Hearts related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I own nothing except for the OCs and story line._


	11. Things Get Stranger

**As you all know, it's nearly the end of 2012. And one of my New Year Resolutions is to not add any more Author Notes at the beginning of a chapter, to not bore the audience. Also, I apologize for the lack of updating. Relatives, Festivities, and Sleep got the better of me.**

**Cheers! **

* * *

_Things Get... Stranger_

Sora twitched in his bed, occasionally turning over or kicking off his covers and pulling them back up. It seemed as if he was having a nightmare, which was completely accurate.

_Sora was in a large oval room; lights dim. He was sitting in a wooden chair, a single light shining down on him. The light was very warm, considering it's been on for the longest while. Sora tried his best to wriggle his hands out of the dark magic that bonded his hands behind the chair, but alas, his efforts were futile.  
_

_Footsteps could be heard within the dark perimeter, concealed and out of view. They were heavy, perhaps largely weighed boots that held the weight of a grown man, or elder for that matter._

_"W-Who's there?" Sora called out, still wriggling around to free his hands._

_"I bring a message of great importance." A rough voice said, filled with age, yet doubled with a more younger voice and muscular._

_"Well, show yourself and then we can talk!" Sora yelled, stretching his head to try and get a better look at the mysterious voice._

_His stretching was used in vain for the owner of said voice showed thyself as an old man with his hands behind his back, hunched over. He had orange eyes, a long pointy beard, and a wrinkled forehead. He had on a white and black coat with a red inner lining, over a white shirt with two thin black belts, as well as white gloves and calf-high black boots._

_"Hello, Sora." The man said with his double-tone voice._

_"Who are you?" Sora asked, baring his teeth._

_"My name is Xehanort. Master Xehanort. But names aren't important as of yet. I come to tell you that we will be arriving shortly on your little Gummi Ship. Do not fret though, for there is no way that you will be able to defeat me and my... companion."_

_"And who might your 'companion' be?" Sora yelled. He was answered by a dark portal opening next to Master Xehanort. A man walked out of the portal with a black cloak on that was all too familiar. he had tan skin, pointed ears, orange eyes, __spiked silver hair pointed straight, and a sinister smile._

_"That would be me." The man said, grinning even more._

Sora woke up in a cold sweat, screaming loudly. The still image of the younger man's face lingered in Sora's mind. Kairi and Riku barged into the room, worried and confused.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Kairi asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, what's up?" Riku asked as well, though his sliver-cerulean eyes showed more curiosity than worry.

"It was nothing. I just had a nightmare. You guys can go back to sleep." Sora said, smiling to hide his true emotion- anxiety. Riku knew that look all too well and decided to take Sora's word for it, leaving first.

"Are you sure you're o-" Kairi was cut off by that blaring repetitive sound of a siren alarm.

"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Security Level Alpha! Two approaching targets located in the lower hangar. Intruder Alert!" The automated female voice repeated itself until everyone was in the hallway, looking about frantically.

"What's going on!" Sora yelled, looking over to Lea.

"Didn't you hear? We're being invaded! Now, if you would be so kind as to get up?" Lea shouted back, summoning his chakrams, Myde his sitar, Riku his keyblade as well as Kairi hers. Vanitas and Ventus also phased out of Sora and brandished their weapons, looking back at Sora.

"Ok, I'm coming!" Sora yelled, leaping out of his bed and summoning Kingdom Key.

They all rushed down the stairs and into the Hangar where the alarm indicated. Once there, they all realized that it was very dark, unlike before where there were lights that lit up the area. lea decided that it would be best if they branched off into groups, preferably of two, with one group having three. Riku was with Sora and Kairi, Ventus was with Vanitas, and Lea and Myde were paired. The groups dispersed and tried to eliminate the perpetrator as quickly as possible.

"Are you sure you're fine, Sora?" Riku asked, pushing all jokes aside and putting seriousness in s his tone.

"Other than the fact that I had a nightmare, I'm fine." Sora chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Trust me, I'm ok. Now let's find this infiltrator and be done wi-" Sora caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. A chill went down his back as a blur of silver hair that didn't belong to Riku passed. "R-R-Riku?"

"Yeah, I saw it too. Quick, stick with Kairi and try to find the others." Riku extended his arm and Way to Dawn pulsed with golden light. He turned his head to see the two of them still standing. "Go! Now!"

Kairi and Sora ran off hand in hand as they tried to find their companions.

Meanwhile, Riku was looking frantically around. "Guardians of Dawn, lend me your power so that I may defend the ones I love." He placed his right hand over his chest and his chest glowed in a golden fashion. That same light ran up his body and covered his eyes, showing nothing but the shimmer of Dawn.

Riku turned around completely and came face to face with someone who looked exactly like the one person he hated the most. "I thought we killed you." Riku said, venom lacing his voice.

"As did I." The man said, extending his arms that were covered in a black cloak. Out of the palm of his hands came light blue electric blades that crackled ever so often. "Yet, I still stand."

"No, there's no way that you are the same. We destroyed your body with the power of Light. How are you still here?!"

The man chuckled and slowly took of his hood to reveal tan skin, pointed ears, orange eyes, spiked silver hair pointed straight, and a sinister smile. He looked just like him.

Riku's eyes widened and he gasped, stumbling back and falling. "How the hell are you here!?"

The man still chuckled and closed his eyes, raising his hand after dismissing his blades. "All in due time." A slowly moving stopwatch dangled in his hand. "But, I did not come here to fight you, Riku. I am here on my master's orders, and unfortunately, you aren't on this list. So if you'd be kind enough to show me where the Chosen One is?"

Riku's anger boiled inside of him as he was measly pushed aside by the man he hated. "That, I can't tell you."

"Oh don't worry. He'll be found soon enough. My little... 'babies' will find him soon. And when they do, I'll be there." The man vanished in wisps of Darkness that left Riku's nose scrunched up and a facial expression of disgust.

"Sora, please, wherever you are, protect yourself and the ones around you." Riku ran in the direction that he saw Sora and Kairi leave, hoping that he will catch him in time.

KHKHKH

"Shouldn't we wait up for Riku?" Kairi asked, panting as she kept up the insanely fast pace Sora had.

"No, he can handle himself. Besides, he's Riku. He can take care of himself." Sora replied, stopping abruptly.

"What? What is it?" Kairi asked the brunette, watching Sora trained senses kick in. His ears moved slightly and he kept sniffing the air, almost like a dog.

"I smell a really bad cluster of Darkness closing in fast. And I can hear multiple footsteps-no, they sound like paws."

Kairi nodded in understanding and grasped her neck in pain. "Ah!"

"Kairi!" Sora grabbed both of her arms and held her close to him, an effort to calm the Princess of Heart. "Move your hand. Let me see."

She complied and removed her hand, revealing a pulsating mark that resembled a heart. It was tinged with black at the edges but slowly became clear towards the centre.

"You're gonna be fine, Kairi. I've got you." He pulled her in closer, feeling her heart beat in his chest. The bond between the Chosen One and a Princess of Heart is overbearing, yet easily bearable for the two. Kairi looked up at Sora with tears in her eyes. "Sora, what's happening to me?"

"I dunno, but I know you'll be fine. I've got you." Sora tried his best comforting her, no matter what the circumstance.

"Aw, isn't that sweet. The Chosen One and his Princess of Heart. It's a shame this is the last time she'll ever see you." A man said, standing on top of a crate. He had the same features as the one in Sora's dream, only this time, he was real.

Sora gasped at the man's appearance, for he greatly resembled... "Y-You're the on from my dream!"

"Oh? You're a fast learner." The man retorted, chuckling after his statement. He turned around to see three entities of Darkness that 'barked' wildly. "Well, I guess they're a bit slow."

"Who are you?" Kairi cried out, loud enough for her voice to echo throughout the Hangar.

"Wouldn't you like to know." He vanished for a quick instant but reappeared in front of Sora, his arm extended out at Sora's neck. What really caught Sora off guard was the fact that out of the palm of his hand was an electric rod that pulsed with a blue hue.

"H-How are you still alive? We destroyed you?!" Sora yelled, pure shock filled his body.

The man just chuckled and pressed the rod against Sora's neck, sizzling his skin. The brunette cried out in pain; the man sinisterly grinning.

"I thought you would've figured it out already. If you haven't, my name is Xehanort." That was all Sora heard before being impaled square in the forehead by the pulsing blue rod. Xehanort reared his hand back and pulled the rod out of Sora's head, leaving a wavering hole where it used to be.

Kairi looked on at Sora, dumbfounded and shocked would be an understatement for her. Fear pulsed through her veins as the man retracted his weapon. She rapidly looked from Sora's impaled head to the man standing before her. Tears filled her eyes. The majority of those tears were tears a Princess of Heart should never shed. Those were tears of anger and hatred, mixed with bitter sadness.

"You monster! How could you?!" She summoned her keyblade and swung out at the man, who merely vanished, leaving behind a floating clock that was stuck on the thirteenth hour. Oddly enough, clocks only had twelve hours.

"Don't take it personally, it's just business." Xehanort's lingering voice said as it slowly faded away and the intruder alarm ceased to stop.

Kairi sat there, holding Sora; pressing him against her chest to feel his heartbeat slow down. She cried out, catching the attention of the others and having them run towards the origin of the sound. Once there, they all had wide eyes and gaped mouths.

"Damn it..." Riku cursed under his breath, looking back at the last moments of Sora's eyes open. They closed at last and Kairi cried even more. Everyone else tried holding their tears back, but gave in after only moments.

"Whoever did this is gonna pay ten times over!" Roxas shouted.

"Make that a hundred. Whoever is the culprit, we'll beat 'em to a pulp and feed 'em back to the darkness!" Vanitas yelled as well.

Ventus had the most sorrowful look, since Sora was the host for his heart for quite some time. He looked back up at the boy and noticed something... peculiar. "G-Guys?"

The others stopped their vengeful shouts and turned to look at what Ventus was seeing. They too had confused looks mixed with shock.

What they saw was the hole in Sora's head closing up nicely and the sound of stretching flesh filled the air. Kairi was the first to realize the internal changes though.

"His heart is still beating... What's going on?"

Riku sighed and closed his eyes, wiping away a single tear the glimmered in the florescent light. "I was afraid this might happen."

"What would, Riku?" Lea asked, wiping away his tears as well.

"When the man who did this, Xehanort, impaled Sora, he didn't use any normal physical attack. He used magic to enchant his weapon to dive into Sora's mind and... cause him to enter a coma."

"A coma?!" Kairi shrieked at the sound of the word.

"Damn you, Xehanort." Lea cursed, punching the crate next to him and shattered it into many planks. His hand bled for a while before he covered his with a bandage Myde gave him.

"How long do yo-" Roxas was about to ask when Riku cut him off.

"Who knows. Days, Weeks, Months, maybe even Years. We just gotta tend to him and take care of him until he awakens."

Everyone nodded as they all helped pick up Sora and carry him to the small medical center on the ship.

**KHKHKH**

Sora layed flat on concrete with his eyes closed. His hand twitched and he gasped, waking up. He held his head and groaned. "Where am I now?" He looked down to see that he was in a black school uniform for highschool boys.

Sora looked around him to see that he was in a schoolyard, at night. He turned at the rustle of leaves. It was a sniper rifle poking out of the bush. A girl with blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes had her gun trained on him. When she realized he was new, she relaxed and stood up.

"You're in the Afterlife, a place where the dead go." She said, as if it was a normal thing to say.

"W-What?!"

"Now," she picked up her sniper rifle and pointed it straight at Sora's head. "How much do you know about the _Rebellion_?"

* * *

**Reviews are appreciate. Votes are appreciated.**

_Disclaimer__:__ Anything 'Kingdom Hearts' related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Anything 'Angel Beats' related belongs to its rightful owner. I only own the OCs and the plot._


	12. Knowledge

**Poll ends in 2 weeks. Vote now on my to see who gets the winning vote.**

**Cheers.**

* * *

_Knowledge_

"Now," she picked up her sniper rifle and pointed it straight at Sora's head. "How much do you know about the _Rebellion_?"

"Rebellion? What rebellion?" Sora asked, raising his hands in the air defensively.

"Oh c'mon! Don't tell me you don't know what the Rebellion is!?" She lowered her sniper rifle once more and looked the spiky brunette dead in the eyes.

"Uh, I don't know. Sorry." Sora lowered his hands and the situation seemed to calm down.

"Well tell me this, what's your name?" She asked, putting a hand on her hip. He didn't realize this before, but she had on a blue-and-white-striped skirt, a white blouse with a blue buttons, and a blue bow in her hair to form a pony tail.

"M-My name? Uh, my name is... What is my name?" Sora put a finger to his chin. He had honestly forgotten his name, along with what he did before he came to the 'Afterlife'.

"Oh boy, here we go again." A male voice said, sounding distant. Sora looked up at the nearest building to see a figure standing at the very top, the giant bright moon shining behind it. The figure leaped down, doing a front flip at that, and landed next to the blonde girl. "Who's he?"

"I dunno. He's new though, and his memories haven't fully registered." She turned to the new figure and moved him slightly to the left to take him out of the moon's light and make him visible to Sora and herself. He was a teen with short black hair, soft purple eyes, light peach skin, and a grumpy frown on his face. The teen had on a burgundy coat, a white buttoned shirt, black pants, and white shoes. He eyed Sora intently and turned to the girl.

"Are you sure we can recruit him? He doesn't seem much of a... fighter." The boy jabbed a thumb in Sora's direction and the girl shrugged.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Right now, we gotta see if he can fight, let alone recruit." She turned back to the brunette and smiled. "Think fast." She brought up her rifle and fired a bullet at Sora's chest. Fortunately, it never touched his skin.

Clanging metal could be heard miles away as the bullet ricocheted into the night sky. Sora opened his eyes and saw a sword-like weapon in his hand. He didn't know- no, he didn't remember- where it came from or why it felt so familiar and calming, but he knew that it saved his life. "What the-"

"Does that answer your question?" She turned to the black-haired teen and he smirked, nodding.

"Does what answer whose question? And where did this thing come from?" Sora threw the sword-like weapon a far distance away and heard the metal of the sword clang against stone.

"Welcome to the Afterlife, as I said earlier. I'll explain everything else once we get back to HQ. Try and remember your name by then, ok?" She smiled and strapped her rifle to her back.

"Sora." The brunette said, not walking with the two. They turned around and the blonde smiled while the black-haired teen showed a faint smile.

"Blue sky... Well, _Sora_, my name is Kazumi. And this guy over here is Hikaru." Kazumi smiled sweetly at Sora and Hikaru showed the same smile.

"Don't worry about him, he really cares, even if he doesn't show it. That's just his way of acknowledging people; by showing little interest." Kazumi giggled a bit before skipping ahead with Sora in tow.

**KHKHKH**

Kairi sat next to the medical bed, holding Sora's hand. He had bandages covering his head and an IV connected to his inner arm. His breathing was normal and he seemed calm.

"Oh, Sora. If onl you could hear me right now. Wherever you are, I pray that you are safe." She touched his chest where his heart was and saw that the electrocardiograph monitor jumped as her hand touched his chest. She smiled at the small jump and removed her hand. "At least you still have your senses, right? I wonder if I could talk to you from here..."

"Kairi?" Riku called from the hallway. He was standing outside of the door, waiting for his turn to pay Sora a visit.

"Yeah, I'm almost done. Just gimme a second." She waved her hand in the air to signal Riku to leave her alone for a while. She turned back around to where Sora layed and placed her hand once more on his chest. The same small jump occurred but settled down afterwards. Kairi took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

A small light travelled under her skin from her chest to Sora's through her hand. Once reached, the light glowed before showing a line from Kairi's chest to Sora's.

"Sora... if you can hear me, show me a sign." Her voice sounded as if she were to tear up again, but she fought back the urge.

After a few moments of silence, she sighed and looked down sorrowfully. But suddenly, as if an act from above, the monitor made another little jump and there was the sound of static in Kairi's ears; almost as if there was a radio giving off raw feedback.

"Sora? Sora! Can you hear me?" She shouted as desperately as she could.

What she heard was more reassuring than anything else. It wasn't much, but it was something. "-name? ... what...my name?"

"Your name is Sora. Don't ever forget that." Kairi whispered softly to the brunette, hoping he could hear her.

"-and remember... name... ok?" a female voice said. Her voice was something that Kairi had never heard.

"...Sora-" Kairi sighed a sigh of relief as her prince remembered his name.

"Blue sky... Kazumi...he... Hikaru... he cares... by... little interest." the female voice said again.

"Kazumi? Who's that? And that other name... Hikaru. I just hope that wherever you are, Sora, you're safe." Kairi released her hold on Sora's chest and stood up straight, wiping stary tears from her eyes and face.

"Kairi? It's almost time for us to get off. You ok in there?" Lea's voice echoed softly through the speakers in the medic room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a second." Kairi smiled at the sight of the brunette. The Chosen One. The same boy who saved the worlds twice. And the same boy who's in a coma at the moment. Her prince and boyfriend. "Stay safe."

**KHKHKH**

"So, could you explain to me what exactly this 'Afterlife' is?" Sora put his hands subconsciously behind his head, a casual pose he never knew he did.

Kazumi turned around and started to walk backwards, smiling again at Sora.

"The Afterlife is a place where the deceased go. It's more like a limbo and the only way you can leave is if you have no more regrets. Usually, the people here are kids, like us, who have regrets in their life." She looked away from Sora and turned around silently.

Sora caught sight of a single tear glistening in the moonlight as it flew from her face and onto the dry ground.

"Ironically, we can't die. No matter what happens, we always come back to life. But what can happen to us is if we follow the rules that 'She' set, we could get obliterated. So as long as we 'go against the crowd' you'll be fine." Hikaru only turned his head slightly to the left while he spoke.

"Alright. But I don't remember anything before I got here. And why does Kazumi have a sniper rifle?" Sora took his hands from behind his head and walked up to the two, keeping up with their pace.

"Memory loss is natural for those who first arrive in the Afterlife. Gradually, you'll get them back. And as to why Kazumi has a sniper ri- Get down!" Hikaru pushed Kazumi to the ground and Sora followed suit, seeing a missile rocket past the three and exploding merely feet away from where they were crouching.

"What the hell was that?" Sora asked, his eyes moving franticall about.

"Damn it! They're here!" Kazumi shouted, pulling around her rifle and aiming at where the missile came from.

"Who's here? And what's going on?" Sora got up and brushed his clothes off, looking around. "I don't see anyone here! I'm leaving." The brunette walked away from the two in the opposite direction they were going.

"Sora no!" Kazumi called out, firing off a round at the targeted vicinity. Hikaru pulled out daggers and threw them at the same area where Kazumi was shooting.

Sora turned around at the two, who were attacking something, but didn't know what. "Relax!" He turned back around slowly. "It's not like anything's gonna ha-"  
He was met face to face with, apparently Kazumi and Hikaru were attacking, some sort of dark creature. It was humanoid, had yellow eyes, and long claws for fingers.

Sora looked down to see the creature's whole hand inside of his body. He looked back up as blood started to pool from the wound. His eyes were wide and his mouth was gaped open. Sora fell backwards and collapsed on the ground, dust kicking up. He slowly opened his eyes to see a pale girl, no older than himself, standing over him. She was wearing a pure white blouse with buttons, a white skirt with blue stripes, and black shoes. Her hair was pitch black and she had distilled blue eyes; nearly pale blue.

"Nothing will happen, right?" She said, sounding innocent. There was something off about her voice though. Could it be that she sounded more automated than realistic?

With that final thought, Sora passed out in a pool of his own blood.

**KHKHKH**

"We're here." Lea said, pointing out through the cockpit window at the blue and white castle that was shaped oddly.

"Alright, let's go!" Myde said as excitedly as ever. He pushed a button and the ship slowly started to descend.

"Myde! You couldn't wait until we contacted Chip and Dale for permission to land?" Lea said angrily. "We could've crash landed!"

"Lighten up, Lea! You're always in a crabby mood! We'll be fine."

Myde was in fact right for Chip and Dale already saw the Gummi Ship when it was within range of their radar. Once the ship landed in the Docking Bay of the Castle, Lea and Myde exited the ship before Riku and Kairi did.

"Riku?" Kairi said his name in a worried tone, almost as if she were to cry again. "Should we bring Sora along? Just so The King could see and tell us what we can do to bring him back?"

"That's not a bad idea. I'm sure Mickey would be more than happy to share his information about what we can do. Let's get Sora in a wheelchair and bring him in like that." Riku jabbed his thumb back in the direction of the Medical Room and the two walked back, only to come out with Sora in a wheelchair minutes after.

The five of them wandered almost aimlessly for nearly ten minutes before Riku pointed out that they passed the room, went all the way back the way they came, and opened the door to the Library, where King Mickey was sitting in the chair behind the desk.

"Your Majesty." Lea and Myde said in unison, bowing.

"Mickey." Riku said, bowing slightly.

"Your Majesty." Kairi bowed as well, looking up after she did so.

"No need for all the formality, fellas! As you may kno- where's Sora?" Mickey looked around for the brunette who saved the worlds twice, only to find him in a wheelchair. "Oh my! What happened?"

"Xehanort..." Lea spat, venom lacing his voice.

"He caused Sora to go into a coma." Riku said, showing the slightly darkened area where Xehanort stabbed Sora in the head.

"I see. That is actually why I called you all here though. I didn't know Xehanort could do that. Tell me, did he look younger?" Mickey had a puzzled look on his face that hid his concern and wisdom.

"Yes, he did. Almost as if he-"

"Went back in time." Riku and Mickey said in simultaneously.

"How is that possible? I thought Riku and Sora defeated Xehanort in the World That Never Was?" It was Kairi's turn to have a puzzled look now.

"Well, Xehanort, the younger one, used to live on Destiny Islands like Riku, Sora, and Kairi. Then his older version came back in time and told him of the future. He also gave the young Xehanort the power of Time Travel to go back in time and get the Nobodies of Organization XIII. With them back together, they will all contribute their body to host Master Xehanort, an evil man who sought to bring on another Keyblade War. And once Master Xehanort gets all of the Nobodies, he himself will go back in time and get his reincarnations and bring on the future of the worlds and reshape it in his own image from the ashes of a new Keyblade War." Mickey took a dee breath to prevent from passing out. "That's what our intel told us."

Everyone's eyes were wide and their faces held confusion.

"As for Sora, the only way for him to come back is for him to fufill all of his regrets and bring back two people who will help you on your journey. By the way, the place he's at is called the 'Afterlife', a place where the deceased go. Almost like a limbo." Mickey sighed and looked at Sora.

"But wait, who does he have to bring back? And I thought Lea and Myde were gonna help us?" Riku looked at Lea and Myde, who shrugged in response.

"We're just carriers. We actually have to find a way to fully Merge with our Nobody counterparts before time runs out." Lea said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, they must go their seperate ways. But, you must find a way to tell Sora to get these two people."

"I already got that covered." Kairi said, smiling.

"Alright! All you need to do is tell him to get those two and he'll be able to come back."

"And who are these two?" Riku asked, crossing his arms as well.

Mickey loked down and sighed, closing his eyes. He looked back up with serious eyes. "Hikaru and Kazumi."

* * *

**Reviews are appreciate. Votes are appreciated.**

_Disclaimer__:__ Anything 'Kingdom Hearts' related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Anything 'Angel Beats' related belongs to its rightful owner. I only own the OCs and the plot._


	13. A Rescue?

**I'm sticking to most of the plot and schematics of 'Angel Beats'. **

**As of now, I have moved the deadline of the poll to Friday, January 25th. You still have one week to vote. If you haven't already voted or don't know how, go to my profile and there should be a small bar that shows 'Poll:'. Click on vote now and just pick whichever pairing you'd like.**

**If you'd like to not go through all of that, I can post the poll right here: Which Riku pairing do you like the most? (Pick only 2)**

**- RiXio (RikuxXion)**

**- RiTif (RikuxTifa)**

**- RiYuf (RikuxYuffie)**

**- RiOl (RikuxOlette)**

**- RiSelph (RikuxSelphie)**

**- RiAer (RIkuxAerith)**

**Cheers.**

* * *

_A... Rescue?_

Mickey loked down and sighed, closing his eyes. He looked back up with serious eyes. "Hikaru and Kazumi."

"Hikaru and Kazumi?" Riku asked, wondering who the two were.

"Yes, Riku. The'yre over there." Mickey pointed to a blonde girl with a black shirt on a white skirt complimented by gray sneakers; and a boy with short black hair who wore a purple shirt, black pants, and white shoes.

_So they are Hikaur and Kazumi... _Kairi thought to herself as she stared blankly at the two, her mind deep in thought.

"They were to check on the Afterlife for any kind of trouble. That was two months ago. We haven't heard from 'em since." Mickey looked down once more, but in sorrow.

"Don't worry, Mickey. I'm sure Sora will find a way to bring them back. After all, it _is _ Sora we're talking about." Riku gave a thumbs up and his reassuring smile brought Mickey's spirits up.

"I sure hope he does. In the mean time, I'd like you three to stay here until Sora returns. It would be safer to do so."

"Understood, Your Majesty." Kairi 'saluted' the king in an awkward way that made him laugh sheepishly.

"Got it." Riku responded in a firm voice, knowing his long-time friend will come through.

"The sleeping quarters are down that hall and to the right. It'd be wise to sleep now. It's getting late."

**KHKHKH **

Sora's eyes were beginning to close on the sight of he girl who thrusted her claw-like hand into him. He could barely lift his head but when he did manage to, he saw the area where he was injured. It wasn't an ordinary wound, apparently. This wound never stopped bleeding. The pool of blood around Sora grew twice as big in the course of mere moments. He felt as if he would just stay there forever and bleed to death. But that wasn't possible. For if Hikaru was right, he couldn't die.

"Guess I'll just sta-" Sora was silenced by the same girl's claw-hand at his neck, her index finger stroking the bare skin sent chills down Sora's back.

"Nothing bad will happen, right?" Her claw-hand transformed into a regular hand as she bent over and offered it to Sora. He looked at her nervously before grasping her hand as she heaved him up without any strain.

"W-Why would you help me up? I thought you were going to kill me?" Sora stumbled a bit before regaining his ground.

"Well, you said 'Nothing bad would happen', so I showed you that something bad _could _happen." She pointed to the odd-looking creatures that Hikaru and Kazumi were fighting against. "Those things will kill you the second they get to. If you're not prepared, you could end up dead."

"But I thought we can't die?" Sora ducked as a creature flew over his head.

"That is true. But that doesn't mean it won't hurt. I'm sure that hole in your body hurt like hell didn't it?" Sora nodded in response. "Well, there you have it. Now leave."

"Wait, when you stabbed me, how come you looked dark? And you had yellow eyes, I think." Sora looked over the girl and noticed that she seemed 'different' from before.

"That was just a dark area where I was. If anything, it was probably the Demon Scar getting a bug. Now, leave." She turned him around and grabbed the collar of his shirt. She swung Sora around and he was launched towards Hikaru and Kazumi, landing on them both.

"Ow! Get off me, scumbag!" Hikaru yelled, kicking Sora right in the chest, rolling him over.

"Hikaru! Watch out!" Kazumi shouted. She aimed right above Hikaru's head and shot at the creature that pounced. It dissipated and left a black mist.

"Sorry! But what exactly is going on?" Sora yelled, pointing at the creatures.

"I'll explain everything at HQ! So let's hurry back!" Kazumi yelled back, firing off a round again before she ran out of bullets. "Damn it! Let's go!"

The three of them hurried back to the HQ, which Sora had no idea where it was.

"So, can you tell me again, what exactly is going on?" Sora asked, locking the doors behid him as he entered what looked like a school.

"Those things there, were all the students at the school. They're not actually real students. They're NPC's. Pretty much like computers that are well scripted. But of course, they react to everything the same way as we do; emotions and all." Kazumi ran up the stairs and into a room that was labeled 'Lost and Found'.

"Why are we going into the Lost and Found Room?" Sora was ignored despite his question as Hikaru yelled at him to get in.

Once in, Hikaru leaned against the wall closest to the door and flipped the light switch on. It wasn't just an ordinary recovery room; it was some sort of high-tech computer-briefing room that changed right before Sora's eyes as the light switch went on. The lost clothing, jewelry, and assorted school-related items were all flipped over and a sleek and shiny marble flooring rose out from below. The walls also flipped and were marble as well. The back of the room was pushed into itself and out came a giant screen monitor that took up the entire space of the wall. In front of the back wall was a very expensive looking desk, lined with small golden beads, that held a slim laptop that shone brightly against Kazumi's face.

She sat down in the office chair behind the desk and put her feet up on the desk. "Are they still out there?"

"Yeah. They're either patrolling the South Wing or fending for themselves. The lot of them've probably died maybe once or twice already." Hikaru said, looking away from Kazumi.

"Wait, there's more people? I thought it was just you two?" Sora decided to sit on one of the couches that were formed in a 'u' pattern around the desk.

"Yes, Sora. There's Momoko, who's mischieviously silent; Ren, the beauty of our team; Hibiki, the optimist; Ryuu, the loner-who-attracts-girls guy, Hikaru, the nonchalant, no offence; and me, Kazumi, the head of this 'platoon'. I'm sure that by tomorrow morning you'll meet them all. But now, we need to get some sleep. We've got a big day ahead of us and we need all the energy we can get, got it?" Kazumi stood up and pushed a purple button next to her laptop, causing the wall on the opposite side to slide open and reveal three sets of two bunk-beds.

"Sorry there's not enough beds. Tonight, you'll have to sleep on the couch. Is that alright with you?" Kazumi asked Sora, smiling as usual.

"Yeah, no problem." Sora took off his shoes and literally plopped down onto the couch, instantaneously falling asleep.

**KHKHKH**

Kairi woke up in the middle of the night, panting. She looked around the dorm and found that she was safe in the Castle's dormitory. The events of the previous day caught up to her and she looked over at Sora in his wheelchair, sleeping silently with his head held down and his hair covering his eyes.

Kairi couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He needed to save the Afterlife from whatever threat, and bring back Hikaru and Kazumi. It may not be in deep comparison as to what he had to do twice before, but it's still a heck of a job; and murder on Kairi's heart.

She got out of bed, her white nightgown ruffled slightly, and went to Riku's room. She knocked respectively and waited until he answered groggily.

"Who is it?" He said, groaning.

"It's me, Kairi. May I come in?" She asked politely, trying to keep a cranky Riku in stable conditions.

"Yeah, sure. Just give me a second." There was a loud thud and Kairi figured that Riku fell out of bed trying to get up. She couldn't suppress her giggle and he chuckled slightly, rubbing his head. "As a matter of fact, the door's open."

Kairi turned the knob of the door slowly and entered quietly. It was a dark room, obviously since it was night. But Riku's room seemed to be a bit... darker. It wasn' the kind of darkness that someone'd be afraid of and get paranoid, but a kind of darkness that seemed warm and comforting. The corners of the room were glowing dimly with a golden light. Riku himself was outlined faintly in the golden light as well, though barely visible.

"What's this feeling? It's-"

"Comforting? Yeah, I know." Riku stood up and dragged the white sheets form the bed and wrapped it around his toned body, which was only covered by boxers. "That's Dawn. It's the transition from Light to Darkness. And, well, let's just say that the Goddess of Dawn-_Aurora_- has accepted me as one of her Warriors of Dawn."

"Riku," Kairi smirked. "You always get the good stuff, don't you?"

Riku paused at her comment, but then chuckled at the fact that what she said was true. He slowly stopped laughing and had a serious look on his face. "Kairi, what is, exaclty, bothering you? I know you too well to know that you wouldn't just come in here and say that. What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm worried about Sora." She looked down at he feet and blushed.

"Aren't we all? Look, Kairi, Sora's fully capable of handling himself in there. Trust me, he's been through worse. Now, go on back to sleep, everything'll be fine. I promise." Riku smiled and Kairi's eyes widened.

"E- Everything will be fine?" She had shed a single tear but dismissed the action even before it came. "But wait, if Sora went into a coma, doesn't that mean Ventus, Roxas, and Vanitas are in the Afterlife as well?"

"I'm sure they are. And if they _are_, then Sora will be more than fine, right?" Riku crawled slowly back into bed and looked sleepily at Kairi.

"Yeah, you're right." She walked back to the door and opened it a little, shedding light from the hallway onto her face for Riku to see. "Goodnight, Riku."

"Night, Kai."

**KHKHKH**

When Kairi got back into her room, she went over to Sora and placed a hand on his. She closed her eyes and the small light shone from her chest and travelled down her arm and into their hands.

"Sora, if you can hear me, turn over wherever you are."

There was no verbal response except for a grunt and the sound of ruffling sheets. She sighed as he acknowledged her voice in his head.

"You need to rescue Hikaru and Kazumi. They can help us on our journey. King Mickey needs them back here so we can get going. Also, if you see two blonde and one black-haired boys that look like you, bring them with you. Their names are Ventus, Roxas, and Vanitas, got it? That's all I can say now. Just promise me you'll return."

She got up from kneelig on the floor and crawled into bed as well, closing her eyes and wishing Sora a good night.

**KHKHKH**

Sora turned over on the couch and pulled the blanket over his shoulders. A smile crept on his face subconsciously as he muttered something very softly.

"I promise, Kairi."

* * *

**Reviews are appreciate. Votes are appreciated.**

_Disclaimer__:__ Anything 'Kingdom Hearts' related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Anything 'Angel Beats' related belongs to its rightful owner. I only own the OCs and the plot._


	14. Memories

**I'm sticking to most of the plot and terms of 'Angel Beats'. **

**Well, the poll's over. The winner was RiXio (RikuxXion). I'll be including this pairing/ character maybe in the next chapter or two.**

**Also, I'll be updating 'Organizational Misfits' during the month of March, so keep up!**

**Side-Note: All Italics means either a flashback or a thought.**

**Cheers.**

* * *

_Memories_

Kairi woke up with a smile on her face, the same smile she had going to sleep the previous night. That smile was the result of the boy's voice that she heard before her eyes closed on her. She felt reassured at that moment and thought that he'd be perfectly fine and can handle himself.

"Kairi, glad to see you're up. Good morning." A female voice said from the corner of the room. Kairi looked over and saw Namine curled up in a corner with a blanket draped over her shoulders, he notepad in her hand, and heavy bags under her eyes.

"Naminé, have you been up all night?" She nodded in response and almost looked ashamed. "What were you doing?"

"I was... you gotta promise that you won't be mad at me." She averted her gaze from her counterpart.

"Of course, Nam. It all depends on what you did also." Kairi walked over to her other and helped her up and onto the bed. "What did you do?"

"I... I... tinkered with Sora's memories. That's how he was able to make you that promise. Kairi, I'm sorry. I know you wanted to help him in all ways you could, but I just wanted to speed it up."

Kairi lowered her head as her hair covered her face from view. "Y-You did what?"

"Please don't be mad! I only tried to help!" Namine looked away as a single tear flew from her face and onto the white sheet, leaving a stain. "I just wanted to help Roxie."

"If you just wanted to help... why didn't you say so? Why didn't you just tell me in the first place?" Kairi looked up slowly at her other but only saw the back of her blonde hair.

"I was afraid... that you'd think I was selfish." Naminé turned around slowly and looked into Kairi's blue eyes, the same as hers. There was no escaping from yourself.

"Of course I wouldn't Nam. You're my other, and Roxas is Sora's. There's really no need to be mad at you, or anything really. Now come on, let's get going. We've got a big day ahead of us." Kairi put a hand on her back and Naminé smiled, nodding.

**KHKHKH**

Sora woke up to the sound of gunshots and some sort of objects being thrown at a very fast speed. "Geez, what time is it?"

"It's time for you to wake up, lazy bum! Everyone's here!" Hikaru's voice rang in Sora's ears as he opened his eyes slowly to see the boy leaning over him. Sora jerked violently at the sight of a boy looking over him and nodded in response to Hikaru.

"Hikaru! Get over here! Ryuu, Hibiki, Momoko, and Ren are here!" Kazumi called from outside the Lost and Found Room. Hibiki turned around faster than ever and actually had a smile on his face for once, which didn't go unnoticed by Sora.

Speaking of Sora, he sat up on the couch and rubbed his head, smiling as the rest of Kazumi's team came through. There were two other girls and two other boys that came through the door. Everyone fell silent as they saw Sora sitting on the couch.

"Who's he?" A girl with purple hair and purple eyes said, wearing the same outfit as Kazumi and the other girl.

"He's kinda cute." The other girl said who had short pink hair that stopped at her shoulders and brown eyes; also wearing the same outfit as the other girls.

"Guys, calm down. He's not a student or anything like that. His name's Sora. And he just joined us here in the Afterlife just yesterday. So make him feel at home, ok?" Kazumi kept a smile on her face until everyone nodded slowly.

"Alright, Sora, this is Momoko. She's a bit quiet but when she is, you better watch out." Kazumi pointed to the purple-haired girl as she bowed in respect.

"Nice to meet you, Sora." She said in the most sweetest and the most innocent voice ever.

"Nice to meet you too." Sora got up and bowed as well, feeling like she deserved the respect he received.

"This here is Ren. She's the beauty of our team and usually goes on seductive missions to gather intelligence and recon." Kazumi pointed to the girl with short pink hair that stopped at her shoulders, accompanied by brown eyes.

"I'm Hibiki!" A boy with black hair that lay flat on his face and covered his forehead said over-excitedly. "And this here," He pointed to a nonchalant-looking boy with ruffled red hair and green eyes that held a hidden compassion for the ones he loved. "Is Ryuu!"

"Hey." Ryuu said calmly, flicking his wrist.

Sora noticed that at his hand was the double barrel of a shotgun. On his hips were two pistols that reflected the light from the ceiling. Sora also noticed the others' weapons as well. Momoko had multiple grenades attached to her belt, Ren had a scythe that reminded Sora of Marluxia all too well, Hibiki had a croosbow slung over his back by a strap and a quiver of arrows tied to a loop at his hip, and Ryuu had his guns. But Ryuu also had two golden watches with bright blue buttons on his wrists.

Ryuu noticed Sora looking at his watches and shifted his hands to behind his back, out of Sora's sight.

"Well, now that you've met everyone, and seen their weapons, show us what you can do. Hikaru and I were worried you couldn't hold up by yourself." Kazumi crossed her arms and leaned to one side, tapping her foot against the ground lightly.

"Well, here goes nothing." Sora sighed and held out his right hand, a flash of light filling the space between his fingers. As the light faded, the Kingdom Key was in his grasp and everyone was taken aback except for Hikaru and Kazumi.

"Wh- what is that?" Ren asked, her eyes wide with curiosity and fear.

"Yeah, what is it?" Hibiki chimed in, staring at the key-like sword in Sora's hand.

"I'm not entirely sure. I just got this last night. Do people normally get weapons when they first get here?" Sora raised an eyebrow when everyone shook their heads or continued to stare at the keyblade.

"Wait, doesn't King Mi-"Hikaru was silenced by Kazumi when she clamped her hand tightly over his mouth and dragged him out the room and into the hallway.

"What was that all about?" Momoko said in her soft voice that accompanied her innocent appearance that covered up her trickster intentions.

Ryuu and Hibiki both shrugged and walked over to a wall with a small button that had a sign above it. The sign read: 'Food Storage'.

Hibiki pushed the small grey button and the wall behind it opened up in two and slid apart. Inside the hidden compartment were wooden crates with a red stamped 'Foods' on them. Assorted items such as chips, sodas, canned foods, and stews that could be made within the hour were all in this storage area.

"Get what you need. We've gotta go on a recon mission in the Southeast Wing." Ryuu said, closing his eyes and sighing slightly.

"Isn't that the Wing we've never gone to in a while? 'Cause of all the corrupt NPCs?" Hibiki's question was answered by Ryuu nodding his head.

"There's a large File that is apparently sending out viruses to all the NPCs that are within a one-hundred foot radius. We haven't gone there because there were too many last time. That was a couple of months ago." Ryuu sighed again at the memory that held the events of that day.

_We gotta find the File and destroy it!" Ryuu yelled as he swung two bladeless hilts towards a corrupt NPC or rather a 'virus' that was in the area from the corrupted File._

_"Well then where the hell is it?" Kazumi yelled back, firing off a round from her sniper on top of a nearby building. She was yelling into the headset that was given to everyone on her team._

_"How the hell are we supposed to know?" Hibiki shot off three arrows at a Virus from his crossbow next to Ryuu. They jumped back to back and surveyed the area. "Do you think we'll be able to find it in time?"_

_Ryuu nodded, his red hair getting in his face."We have to. If we don't, what'll Ren and Momoko think of us? Oh yeah, wimps. So yeah, we gotta find it."_

_Hibiki chuckled as he fired off two arrows, accompanied by a bullet from Kazumi's sniper rifle. "You always did find ways to pull through, huh?"_

_"Guys! If you don't mind, I could use a little help in the front lines here!" Hikaru's voice boomed through the headsets that belonged to Kazumi, Hibiki, and Ryuu. The three of them pulled the earpieces away and rubbed their now sore ears. _

_Kazumi was the first to put hers back on as she picked up her rifle and looked down at the Viruses multiplying. "Ryuu, Hibiki, you two need to find where the File is. I'll go and help Hikaru up front, understood?"_

_"Yes, ma'am!" The two boys said as the grinned with excitement from ear to ear. They disappeared into the midst of the Viruses and many slicing and arrows flying could be heard._

_"Alright, Hikaru, what are your coordinates?" Kazumi was running on top of the rooftops now, trying her best to catch up with Hikaru._

_Hibiki pushed a button on his earpiece and a small map popped up with numbers and letters. "Uh… 48 South, 38 East!"_

_"I'm on my way!" Kazumi bolted away, leaving the two boys to defend the back lines._

_"Man, there's a lot of Viruses." Ryuu sighed and blocked a Virus before obliterating it._

_"Hah, you can say that again!" Hibiki called back, firing off another arrow that impaled two Viruses. _

_"Man, there's a lot of Viruses."_

"Hey, Ryuu?" Hibiki said, looking at Ryuu with curiosity in his eyes. Ryuu grunted in response as he got another bag of chips. "How come you don't use your swords anymore?"

Ryuu dropped the bag of chips he just picked up as well as all the other packages of food. His eyes widened as well as he turned to look at Hibiki slowly. "I'll never use those worthless bladeless hilts ever again. They couldn't save me before, and they won't save me now or in the future. I'm sticking with my shotgun and pistols."

Hibiki looked away with a sad expression on his face, but soon dismissed the depressing thought and focused on his earlier task. He pushed what just happened to the back of his head and changed the subject completely.

"And we didn't even get a chance to see what the File looked like. Rats." Hibiki pushed some more snacks into his arms before standing up and facing the others. "Get some rest too. We've got a recon mission there. Or me and Ryuu can go by ourselves."

"Are you crazy?" Momoko's hair bounced as she stomped over to Hibiki and slapped him hard on his cheek, leaving a red handprint. "You haven't gone back there in two months and you expect to actually find the File and destroy it? I won't forgive you if you go!"

Hibiki's cheeks started to become a crimson red as her words sinked in. _Does she really…? _

"So don't you think you can go and do it alone, ok? You have all of us here to help you. Even Sora, who seems really tired now, can help!"

Sora looked up at Momoko with groggy eyes and a long face. "It's not my fault that couch was uncomfortable." Sora mumbled under his breath and scratched the back of his head.

"What was that, Sora-kun?" Ren asked, scooting next to Sora's side.

Sora's eyes widened as she said his name in that way. There was only one person who called him like that. "Kairi…"

**KHKHKH**

Riku was in his room, playing with the power of Dawn, when there was a knock on the door. "It's open."

It wasn't what came through the doorway that startled him, but _who. _The Dawn that Riku was playing with fizzled out and his cerulean and silver eyes widened with horror and puzzlement.

"It's been a while, Riku."

Riku gasped as her figure was outlined from the light in the hallway. She had black short hair, a black and white plaid dress that stopped at her thighs, black leggings, and white and black shoes that were similar to Kairi's. Next to her feet was a small Shadow Heartless, with pink eyes, that behaved like a normal Shadow would. It twitched around and swayed rhythmically. It seemed rather calm, compared to its kin.

"X… X… Xi- Xion?"

* * *

**I lied, so what? I'm not perfect! Peace! :D**

**Reviews are appreciated.**

_Disclaimer__:__ Anything 'Kingdom Hearts' related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Anything 'Angel Beats' related belongs to its rightful owner. I only own the OCs and the plot._


	15. Secrets

**Yo! Been a while, yeah? Well, without any more procrastination and being busy, here's the next chapter!**

**Cheers.**

* * *

_Secrets_

A mass of blue spiked hair was the most noticable thing that came out of the Dark Corridor in the World That Never Was. The owner of said hair had orange-yellow eyes, slightly pointed ears, tan skin, an 'x' shaped scar on his left cheek, and a cloak that was half white and half black split down the middle.

His face was hard and almost battle-worn, but that wasn't what was actually going in within him.

"Damn, why must it be so difficult to maneuver around those guys?" He said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Seconds later, another Dark Corridor opened up next to the blue-haired man and out came another man with a similar cloak that had his hood up. "Who knows? But what we do know is that Master Xehanort needs, roughly, eight more of us to complete his goal."

The blue-haired man looked around unsteadily to make sure no one was around to hear, then leaned in towards the other and whispered in his ear. "Don't forget which side you're on, Dilan. We may act like we work for that flea-bag Xehanort, but don't forget our true goal."

"Yeah, you don't have to remind me, Isa. I'm pretty sure I won't forget that we are on the King's side. I'm not entirely sure, though, if Even, Aeleus, or even Ienzo are completely committed to our plan. We can't fully trust them as of yet." The man removed his hood to show black dreadlocks tied in a low ponytail, bushy eyebrows, heavy sideburns, and violet eyes. Those same eyes held the unforgettable past that not only he went through, but the others as well when they Merged.

"But we can trust them enough for now. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?" Isa's question was answered when several Dark Corridors opened up a few feet away. Out of the portals came a short boy with purple hair that covered one of his dark blue eyes. The next person was a man with long blonde hair, a slender face, and emerald eyes. Last ,but not least, was a heavier-built man with broad shoulders, muscular arms, wavy orange hair, and hard blue eyes. The three of them wore the same cloak as Dilan and Isa.

"I assure you, Isa, we are completely on your side with this one." The shorter said, crossing his arms.

The heavy-built man nodded in response, followed by a grunt.

"Indeed. We would like to see nothing more than that old bag of keys die." The blonde said, his voice hiding his severe hatred for the man.

"Does that answer your question?" Dilan asked, pointing to the three that recently arrived.

Isa chuckled and flashed a smile, which rarely happened. "Yes, it does."

The five of them went into their own Dark Corridor and left the World That Never Was, well at least what was left of it.

**KHKHKH**

"Where've you been, Braig?" Xehanort asked from a throne constructed out of old and rusty keyblades. Surprisingly enough, it didn't hurt.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Braig scoffed and flicked his hand to signal that he didn't care what Xehanort said about him.

"You do realize that you are talking to me, right Braig?" An elder man's voice said. He came out of a Dark Corridor and had his hands behind his back. The man looked around and saw that they old keyblades were arranged in a large dome with cages that held fire to serve as a light source.

"My apologies, Master Xehanort." There was a slight tone of disrespect in Braig's voice that Master Xehanort caught on to fairly easily.

"Don't force my hand to remove your other eye, Braig. I will not hesitate to do so." Master Xehanort glared at Braig, causing him to bow out of fear of losing his only good eye.

"Now then, Xehanort, what is our current status?" The old master turned to his younger self with curiosity in his eyes.

"Well, so far we have Isa, Dilan, Aeleus, Ienzo, and Even on our side. If the Merge of Marluxia, Larxene, or Luxord was successful, we would find out from the scanners. Also, if they did Merge correctly, then we should recover them as soon as possible."

Good, that leaves only Lea and Myde. If we can change their minds and join our ranks, then we will finally be unstopable and reach our goal of everlasting darkness on every world!" Master Xehanort started to chuckle, which frightened the younger Xehanort quite enough.

_I really don't want to end up like him. I mean, they don't know what we have in store but..._

"Xehanort, is there something the matter? You seem deep in thought." Master Xehanort narrowed his eyes at his younger self.

"No, nothing's the matter, Master. I was just wondering if they Merged all the way. It does take some time you know. Days, Weeks, Months, maybe even yea-"

"Don't tell me what I already know. It _will _take some time for them to Merge, but when they do," He chuckled again, but this time it was more sinister. "it will not be for nothing. You are dismissed." Master Xehanort left through his own Dark Corridor as Braig went through his, leaving the young teen to himself.

"What are they up to...? Isa... Aeleus... Ienzo... Even... Dilan... where are you?"

**KHKHKH**

Isa's ears twitched as he thought he heard his name being spoken. "I coulda sworn..."

He dismissed the thought and carried on with what he was previously doing. At the moment, he was in search for his best friend, Lea. Though it hasn't been successful recently. He had gone to every world that he could rattle off the top of his head but his friend was nowhere to be found. "Damn it, where is he?"

"Excuse me, sir? Are you looking for someone?" An old man spoke up from where he was sitting on a bench. The bench itself spanned over a few feet and seemed to look like it came straight out of a comic book or something. The man wasn't just an old man either. He was, or at least what looked like, an old duck garbed in a blue suit and a monocle. He had on a blue hat and a wooden cane.

"Sort of. It seems I've let my good companion wander astray and now I can not find him." Isa had a calm tone in his voice, the same calm tone he had when he was a Nobody.

"Ooh, that's a toughie. Tell you what, I'll help you look for your friend of yours in exchange for some munny!" The old duck had an amused look on his face that threw Isa off guard.

"W-What? I don't have any munny, you old duck. If you're not going to help, stay seated and enjoy the rest of your day." The blue-haired man turned around and was about to walk away when the old duck started laughing.

"You've got spunk, kid. Tell me, what's ya name?"

Isa had a grin on his face when he turned around once more, bent down to one knee, and looked the old duck man in the eyes. "My name's Isa. And what might yours be?"

"Well, I don't really like telling strangers my personal business because it can cause trouble with your personal information and bank info. But you don't seem like that kind of person so I'll tell you. The name's Scrooge McDuck, but most people around here call me Uncle Scrooge."

Isa chuckled slightly at the duck's name before standing up straight and looking around. "Now, where should we start looking?"

"Beats me! You're the one who's looking for your friend, not me. I'll go look around though, see if I can get any information on where he might be. Tell me, Isa, what does your friend look like?"

Isa put a finger to his chin before his memory kicked in. "He has red spiked hair, green eyes, and he has an affinity for fire and fire-related material."

"Well, I'll be sure to ask the townsfolk if they'd seen such a person." Scrooge waddled away in the direction of, what looked like, alleyways that probably led to another area.

The blue-haired man sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose. "If you want something done, hire a duck. If you want something done right-"

"Do it yourself?" A man said, coming out of a Dark Corridor dressed in a red hoodie, white pants, and black sneakers.

Isa didn't even have to turn around to recognize the voice. "So I guess you did hear me, huh?"

"How could I not?" The man brushed back his red hair with his hand, smirking at Isa. "Your voice is pretty loud. Got it memorized?"

"Of course. Now, let's get down to business." Isa also smirked as he drew near to the man.

"With pleasure."

**KHKHKH**

King Mickey paced around his office frantically, anxiety eating at him from the inside out. "How could I have said such a thing? Even if it was for my personal affiliations? I shouldn't have phrased it like that to them. Now they probably think-"

"They probably will think what, Your Majesty?" A female's voice asked from the doorway to the King's office.

Mickey's eyes widened in shock and turned around slowly, sensing that it was only a single person. His anxiety-worn face produced a smile that comforted the newcomer. "Kairi, I didn't even hear ya come in. What can I help you with?"

"Well, nothing really. But I was just on my way to the Garden and I passed your office so I thouht I would stop by. So, who was it you were talking about?" Kairi raised an eyebrow as she slowly walked in and closed the door behind her.

Mickey sighed and sat in his chair behind his desk, putting his head in his hands. "You three. What I said to you, Sora, and Riku wasn't very honest."

"'What you said'? What did you say that wasn't honest, Your Highness?" Kairi took a seat as well but sat in front of the King.

"When I said that Sora would have to bring back Kazumi and Hikaru so that they would help you on your journey, that was a lie. I only needed Sora to brign them back so that they could be safe and report any incidents that happened. The fact of the matter is, there is only one person that I know that can actually contribute to your fight against Xehanort."

Kairi looked down sadly with confusion and a slight twist of anger dwelling inside her. "So what you're saying is that you lied to us so that you could get your informers back?"

Mickey looked away in shame. "Yes, that is right. I'm sorry for not telling you three up front, but I wasn't sure what your reactions would be."

Kairi clenched her fists and a single tear fled from her eyes. "I forgive you. But I don't know about Riku or Sora. I forgive you because you did it for the ones you care about. But I wasn't going to because it was a selfish thing to do."

Mickey's thought process sped up at the sound of someone saying Riku's name. "Oh man, what if _she_ ends up finding him?"

"Are there other secrets you're not telling us?" Kairi was getting furious now. She trusted the King fairly enough. But now, it seems as if he has put on a hoax for them and they were playing along.

"There's just one more. The girl I am talking about looks a lot like you. Unfortunately, she died by the hands of Roxas. The fact is, she never really existed in the first place. I've recovered her file data from Ansem's computer in Radiant Garden and fulfilled her last request when she came to me, alone, the week before her death. She had asked if I was King Mickey and I replied with a yes. Her face lit up and her smile warmed my heart. But what she said after that shocked me the most. 'Could you make me a real person?' That was the last thing she said to me. So up until recently, the files were being rendered and with the help of Ansem's old equipment now restored, I revived her. Now she may not have a physical heart, but she definitely has one emotionally. Pretty much she's a shell, but don't let her-"

"Your Highness, you still haven't told me who it is you're talking about." She wasn't agitated any more but she was more confused than before.

"Her name is Xion. She wasn't remembered by anyone except Roxas and Riku, whom actually knew her personally. If you do end up seeing her, which I'm certain you will, please don't mention her past or what I have just told you. Please, you must promise me, Kairi." Mickey extended his gloved hand towards the Princess of Heart. She looked down at his hand and shook it hesitantly. "Thank you, Kairi. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must contact Master Yen Sid."

Kairi complied to the King's orders and left his office, leaving the mouse awaiting his Master's voice through a crystal he had pulled out of his pocket.

* * *

**Reviews are appreciated.**

_Disclaimer__:__ Anything 'Kingdom Hearts' related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I only own the OCs and the plot._


	16. Closure

**This chapter will be EXTREMELY longer than normal (probably 7,000+ words. Or somewhere close to that.) due to the Angel Beats arc coming to an end. I do apologize if you don't like reading long chapters, but I had to fit all of it into one chapter, otherwise this arc might not end until later. So please, sit back, relax, and try to enjoy the chapter. **

**Oh, before you start reading this chapter, I might start making the end of each arc extra long. Tell me what you think! I'll probably make a poll for it.**

**WARNING: If you do not like vivid romance, try to skip over it. You've been warned…**

**Cheers.**

* * *

_Closure_

The small mouse king was sitting in his office with a small blue crystal in his hand, trying to contact his older master. There was a faint glow before the sound of static filled the room.

"Wha…. Ickey?" An elderly voice said through the crystal. It sounded slightly raspy.

"Master, you're not coming out clearly." The King said, shifting the position of the crystal to the right to see if that would make any difference.

"One se… Ok, how about now?" The voice said again as a hologram of an old wizard wavered into existence.

"Yes, you're coming out fine where you are." Mickey said as he smiled at the sight of his master.

"Now, Mickey, what seems to be the issue? I mean, other than the Xehanort situation." Yen Sid stroked his beard as he awaited his apprentice's reply.

"Well, I just explained the story about Xion to Kairi, and then I told her that we needed to send _him _in to help the three of them on their journey to defeat Xehanort." Mickey looked away from the crystal for a brief moment to make sure his dog, Pluto, was still in his bed sleeping. Naturally, Pluto was in fact in his bed, but he wasn't sleeping.

"Do you want me to send _him _his Gummi Ship that he has here, or do you want to send one of your spare ones?" Yen Sid also looked away from his crystal to look at a small diagram of the Hangar that was only accessible to him. He checked to see if said Gummi Ship was still there. It was and it looked as good as new.

"Why not send his? I mean, he _did _make it himself." Mickey smiled once more at the thought of his friend making his own Gummi Ship out of spare parts of failed Gummi Ship landings.

"You're right. I will send him a notice as soon as possible, Mickey. But for now, please worry about getting Sora back as well as your personal informers."

"Will do, Master Yen Sid." On that note, the two dismissed the call and Yen Sid held up his yellow crystal once more. He closed his eyes and the yellow crystal began to glow.

"What do you want, Yen Sid?" A male voice said from the crystal. It sounded slightly agitated as well as young.

"Please hold while your hologram appears, old friend." Yen Sid sighed and closed his eyes once more, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, ok." The male voice replied, sounding less agitated.

The hologram of the male finally appeared and Yen Sid opened his eyes again. The male had short brown hair that laid flat on his face. He had fair skin and dark brown eyes. There was a small 'x' shaped scar on the left side of his chin.

"So what is it you want again?" The male smirked at his own response and Yen Sid showed a faint smile.

"It's time."

"What do you mean, it's time? Is there another Keyblade War? Has the balance of Light and Darkness altered? Wha-"

"Master Xehanort has returned, along with his younger self and possibly his others."

There was a moment of silence as the male's jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"I-Is he in his elder state or is he in his _other _form?"

"From what I've been told, he is in his elder state. What I think is that his soul finally returned to his previous body and his _other _form's body ceased to exist."

The male sighed and looked back at Yen Sid. "Send my Gummi Ship to Twilight Town. I'll head straight to your tower immediately."

"That won't be necessary. You'll need to arrive at Mickey's castle instead. I'm afraid he's the one that needs you the most." Yen Sid stroked his grey beard once more.

"Got it. I'll be there as soon as my Gummi Ship get's here."

Master Yen Sid snapped his fingers and the ground outside his castle began to open as if there was a tear. A sleek black Gummi Ship in the shape of an arrow rose from out of the ground and hovered in the air. It had the big thrusters on the back, two machine guns on its wings, and the cockpit's glass was glazed over and tinted. It was a sight to behold.

"It's on its way. Knowing your Gummi Ship though, it'll probably get there within ten minutes." Yen Sid turned back to look at his crystal but found out that the call had already ended. That most likely meant that he hung up right after he told him that his Ship will be there.

"Angel Koriyama, you're as reckless as ever."

**KHKHKH**

After what seemed like an hour and a half, Riku finally understood how Xion had come back, but still didn't understand why.

"So why exactly, are you here? I mean, of all places and of all people, why us?" Riku cracked his knuckles and then his neck, releasing the built up pressure in his joints.

"Well, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me. But I'll tell you anyway. I wanted to be here so I could finally tell Roxas and Axel how sorry I really am, and…" Xion looked down at her feet from the chair she was sitting in. The small Shadow sat down next to her feet and started fiddling with its antennae. Now that Riku had a good look at it, he realized that it wasn't the same size as the other Shadows. This one was drastically smaller and seemed to be slightly pudgy. It had hands in the shape of gloves: a thumb and combined fingers that were round at the tip. The feet were round at the tip as well.

"And what? Xion, you can tell me. Despite what I've said before, you can trust me to believe you." Riku hesitated to move forward, but decided to go against his better judgment and leaned towards Xion and held her chin up, locking his silver and cerulean eyes with her sea blue eyes similar to Sora's previous coloured eyes. Xion leaned closer as well and before anyone knew it, they had locked things other than their eyes. Their lips were pressed together as Xion's eyes closed slowly. Only moments later did they pull apart and Xion looked up at Riku.

"I also wanted to be with you." The two seemed to melt into another passionate kiss and this time, both of them closed their eyes.

Kairi stood at the edge of the door, observing the two. Her cheeks grew red and she smiled at the scene. "Good for him. It's about time anyway."

She left her position at the edge of the room door and walked back to her room, her cheeks returning to their normal colour. Once inside her room, Naminè phased out of her 'host' and smiled at her other.

Kairi turned around and saw that Naminè was grinning at her creepily. "What? What's wrong Naminè? It's not that time of month, is it?"

Naminè gave her a look of disgust and shook her head rapidly. "No!" She grinned again nonetheless. "But I know what you were thinking about when you were peeping on those two."

Kairi's cheeks grew red once more and she became flustered and embarrassed. "Wha- What!? No you don't! Pfft, what could I possibly have been thinking about at that time?"

"Don't lie to yourself, Kairi. You were thinking that you and Sora could do that, weren't you?" Naminè pointed a finger at Kairi and waved it around, giving a sound of disapproval.

Kairi looked down at her shoes as her cheeks grew an even deeper shade of red. "I mean, it would be nice if we could do that kind of stuff, but I'm not complaining. Sora's got a lot to deal with and I'm sure he'll always have room for me."

Naminè put her hands on her hips and sighed. "You know, if you want things to turn out differently, all you have to do is change it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Unfortunately, Naminè had gone back into Kairi before her question could be answered.

Kairi decided to kick off her shoes and sit on the bed, picking up the television controller and flip through the channels out of sheer boredom. Ever so often, she would glance at Sora in his comatose state and think about what Naminè said. "Change it, huh? Hmm…"

**KHKHKH**

"Who's Kairi?" Ren asked, backing up slightly.

Sora realized what he had said and held his hands up in defence. "I didn't mean to startle you, Ren. Kairi's just… Kairi's just… I don't really know, actually."

"Whadya mean? How come you don't know?" Momoko chimed in this time, obviously cooling down from telling Hibiki what was on her mind.

"I just… don't know. I mean, I know she's a person that I know. But that's all I know. There's some kind of connection between us, but I dunno what kind of connection it is." Sora scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

"Well, I'm sure you'll gain your memories again in no time, Sora!" Hibiki batted Sora on the back with his free hand, smiling widely. "Right, Ryuu?"

Ryuu narrowed his eyes at Sora but turned around shortly after to look out the window. "Right."

He didn't know what that meant, but Sora knew it wasn't a very good look he gave him. Deciding to ignore it, Sora was the first to turn towards the room's entrance door to see Kazumi and Hikaru dragging in three boys that looked similar to Sora.

"Look what we have here! Three new students!" Kazumi shouted as she pulled one of the boys into the room while Hikaru lifted one of the boys over his shoulder and carried the other in his left arm.

"We found them in that same place we found Sora the other night." Hikaru gently laid the two boys down on the couch, so as to not hurt them, and stretched. Kazumi did the same shortly after she laid the other boy down on the couch. Two out of the three boys had blue eyes. They were blonde and, as far as anyone else knew, could be brothers. The other boy looked exactly like Sora except for the colour of his hair, which was the darkest shade of black.

"Sora, why does that one there look like you?" Ren pointed to the black spiky-haired boy leaning unconsciously against the blonde in the middle, who also had spiked hair but his was swept to the side. The other blonde had the same style of hair except his was more kept.

"I don't…" Sora walked over to the three boys and examined each of them, tapping his right index finger on his chin. "Know. Maybe we can ask him when he wakes up."

"In that case, I have the perfect solution!" Kazumi dug around in her desk drawer and pulled out a bull horn. She walked over to the three boys and lightly pushed Sora away. "Make sure the rest of you cover your ears."

The rest of them complied and covered their ears, making sure to not impair their hearing. Kazumi plugged one of her ears and pushed down the horn's button as hard as she could. When the noise died down, the three boys were still in an unconscious state and weren't even fazed by the loud noise.

"It didn't work…" Kazumi was shocked at the fact that these three mysterious boys could easily not be disturbed by the sudden loud noise that came from her horn.

"Hm…" Sora walked over to the boy that looked like him and stooped down until he reached eye level. "I wonder…"

"Sora, what are you going to do?" Fear and curiosity could be heard in her voice when Ren as

"Don't do something you're going to regret, idiot." Hikaru crossed his arms and tapped his foot against the wooden floor.

Sora ignored their questions and remarks and continued what he intended to do. He placed one hand over his chest and the other hand over the boy's chest. A few moments after, there was a faint glow on both of their chests and the boy slowly opened his eyes.

"Wh- Where am I? Who are you people?" The boy had orange-yellow eyes and a hint of roughness in his voice.

"You're in the Afterlife! My name's Kazumi, this is Hikaru, that's Ren over there, Momoko's the girl next to Ren, and those two boys are Hibiki and Ryuu. Welcome to the Afterlife's Rebellion Committee!"

Hikaru leaned closer to Kazumi and whispered in her ear. "I thought you said we wouldn't have an official name for us?"

"Yeah well, I decided to do so since they're new. What's the difference anyway?" Hikaru shrugged and crossed his arms again.

"You didn't answer my question. I don't care who all of you are, I only want to know who this idiot is that's touching my chest!" The black-haired boy growled slightly in agitation and looked at Sora with a menacing look.

There was a pause between the Sora and the boy as they just looked at each other in curiosity as to why they looked alike. The black-haired boy raised an eyebrow at Sora and he seemed to catch on.

"My name's Sora." Sora answered his unspoken question as he removed his hand from his look-alike's chest. "What's your name?"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on… You're name's Sora?" The black-haired boy seemed to be thinking pretty hard for someone who just woke up. "Where have I heard that name before…?"

"I don't really know how you could possibly know me, or even my name, but I guess I could help you remember. First, though, what's your name?" For an instant, the colour in Sora's eyes, blue and silver, seemed to swirl slightly and faintly glow.

"My name's Vanitas." As if a brick had hit the two simultaneously, they realized who they were and who the other was. Sora's memories seemed to flood into him as he remembered everything. Well, almost everything that is. There were bits and pieces that he couldn't quite make out. The majority of the people in his memories were pretty clear but there were a few people that were a blur to him. There were two blonde boys that were blurred completely; another boy with silver hair was partially blurred; a girl was blurred from the neck down, showing auburn hair, soft blue eyes, and fair skin; a woman with blue hair was also blurred and was accompanied by a man with brunette hair, who was also blurred. Sora could remember names, but couldn't match the names with their owners.

Vanitas and Sora looked at each other with widened eyes after most of their memories came back. A smirk crawled onto Vanitas' face as well as Sora's. Vanitas' smirk soon disappeared after what Kazumi said clicked in his mind.

"Why are we in the Afterlife?" He looked to his left and saw the two blonde boys that were the same blurred blondes from his memories. "And who are they?"

"It beats me. You remember what happened before you got here, right?" Sora put a finger to his chin and tried to remember who the other two boys were at the same time.

"Yeah, I remember. What about you?" Vanitas glanced around at everyone after Sora nodded.

Vanitas got up from the couch and patted Sora's back. "Wake those two up. If what just happened to us will happen to them too, then we can get all of our memories back and figure out what we're doing here."

"I'm on it." Sora nodded and scooted over to the first blonde and placed a hand on his chest as well as his own.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Vanitas, or as some people called me, the Masked Boy." Vanitas bowed and got a variety of looks from everyone. Some were confused looks, others were looks of admiration, and the remainders were looks of suspicion, mainly coming from Kazumi and Hikaru.

"Hey, Kazumi, didn't the King mention something about the 'Masked Boy' in one of his stories he told us a while back?" Hikaru leaned closer to Kazumi, though there wasn't much space between them left for leaning, to hear her response.

"Yeah, the King said he was a part of Master Xehanort's plans to gain control over Kingdom Hearts and start a new Keyblade War. Do you think we can trust him? Even with Keyblade Master Sora here, we never know what he might do."

Hikaru sighed and closed his eyes. "We'll just have to see how thing play out from here."

Vanitas turned around and checked on Sora's progress with waking up the two blondes. To his surprise, the two of them had already awoken and were trying to get their bearings straight. "Finally, you two are up. He's Sora, and I'm Vanitas. Now get your memories situated, got it?"

"Vanitas, you can't be so hars-" Sora stopped mid-sentence when his memories were connected as well as the two blonde boys. Their names were Roxas and Ventus. Now, all Sora had to do was figure out who the brunette, the blue-haired woman, the auburn-haired girl, and the silver-haired boy were.

"So who are you two?" Hibiki asked, sticking his hand in a bag of chips and munching loudly.

"My name's Roxas." The first blonde stood up and bowed as well. He had blue eyes and a friendly smile that hid his difficult past.

"And my name is Ventus. It's nice to meet you." Ventus also had the same colour blue eyes as Roxas and the same friendly smile that hid _his _difficult past.

"Well, I guess I'll have to introduce everyone again. This i-" Kazumi was cut short when Hikaru interrupted.

"I think everyone can introduce themselves, Kazumi. I mean, it's not every day that we get a Keybla-" Hikaru couldn't finish his sentence for he was kicked in the chest and sent flying out the window.

"Anyway!" Kazumi laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her head as well. "My name's Kazumi, as you've probably heard that loud-mouth say earlier. His name is-"

"Damn it Kazumi! Why'd you have to kick me so hard?" Hikaru said as he was climbing through the window he recently was sent flying out of. "My name's Hikaru." He turned to Kazumi and narrowed his eyes at her. "All I said was that Sora was a Keybla-"

Sadly, Hikaru was kicked in the chest again. But this time, he evaded the kick and laughed heartedly. Unfortunately, he didn't see the clenched female fist drawing closer to his jaw and was sent flying once more out the window, making the glass shatter right next to the previous hole he made.

Hibiki whistled the sound of a bomb being dropped as he heard Hikaru crash. "My name's Hibiki!"

"And my name's Ryuu. But the pleasure's all yours, not mine." Ryuu crossed his arms again and closed his eyes in agitation.

"Uh, ok?" Roxas raised an eyebrow at Ryuu's comment. Ventus whispered in Roxas' ear something that made him chuckle, though it couldn't be repeated in public.

Ryuu's eyebrow twitched in annoyance this time, and he opened his eyes only to narrow them at the two.

"Don't mind him, Roxas and Ventus. He's just a little sour apple!" Ren took a few steps forward and introduced herself. "My name's Ren! And my beautiful friend here is Momoko!"

"Nice to meet you!" Momoko winked at Roxas, causing him to blush slightly.

"Well now that we're all buddy-buddy, we can finally do our mission, right?" Ryuu spoke up, his voice still filled with agitation.

"Yeah," Hikaru's voice echoed in the room as he climbed up, for a second time, through the window. "And now that we have the Keybla-"

"You just don't listen, do you?" Kazumi's hair covered her face, but Hikaru could tell she was furious. She dragged him into the room only to kick him in the chest as hard as she could. Hikaru saw this coming and blocked with the palms of his hands. He also saw her fist aiming at his jaw again and decided to grab it and push it aside. He chuckled again at her futile attempts, but this small victory was short lived for she pulled out a shotgun, seemingly out of nowhere, and aimed it at his chest. _She _smirked this time and pulled the trigger, watching the gun's bullets carry Hikaru straight out the window again. The hole he made this time was right in the middle of the two previous holes he made before. "Maybe he'll listen this time..."

Sora, Roxas, Ventus, and Vanitas' eyebrows twitched in fear and confusion as they observed Kazumi's capabilities.

"I wonder what he did..." Hibiki put his greasy finger to his chin and pondered on the thought.

"He shoulda listened." Ren sighed and put her hands up as if to say 'what-are-we-gonna-do?'

"Will he be ok? I mean, you kind of shot him in the chest with a double-barrel shotgun." Sora pointed at the large cracked portion of the window and then looked back at Kazumi.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. Remember, no one can actually die here because we're already dead!" She said this a bit too enthusiastically, which scared even Vanitas.

"So Ryuu, this mission you were talking about... Is it really dangerous?" Ventus couldn't shake the feeling that this 'mission' he was talking about wouldn't end on a happy note.

"If you consider thousands of Viruses attacking you all at once and you don't know where the File is, then I don't know what is." Ryuu's voice cracked towards the end of his sentence, something that never happened. Usually, he was the care-free type of person but just then, it sounded as if he was actually scared.

"What are Viruses and these Files you mentioned?" This time, Roxas was the one to speak up. _I wonder if they're anything like the Heartless or Nobodies. Or maybe they're even worse than the two..._

"Well, Viruses are NPCs that were corrupted. The NPCs started to go wrong about two months ago, right around the time Kazumi and Hikaru showed up." Hibiki pointed to Kazumi and then to Hikaru, who just made it into the room from climbing two stories upwards.

"Yeah, and that's the same time King Mickey se-" Hikaru stopped his sentence out of fear as to what Kazumi might do to him this time. Shockingly, she didn't do anything except for smile wickedly, her hair still covering the majority of her face. Hikaru stood there in fear while Kazumi slowly walked towards him. She grabbed his collar and led him to the closest wall, which was the wall that held the broken window.

"You never listen, do you?" She asked him in the calmest voice.

"Listen to what? Am I not supposed to talk about our previous li-?"

"Idiot..." She reared her hand back, which held Hikaru's head, and penetrated the wall with his skull. She turned around and smiled as if nothing happened while everyone else's mouths were gaping as they looked on at Hikaru, whose body was halfway into the wall.

Sora, Roxas, Ventus, and Vanitas were probably the only four that heard what Hikaru said before his futile end.

"King... Mickey? Why would he-" His eyes widened in realization and looked back at Kazumi and Hikaru. "Wait, _you two _areKazumi and Hikaru?"

Hikaru sounded muffled but Kazumi spoke for the both of them.

"Yeah. He sent us here two months ago. And I hope you know how to get all of us out, right?" Kazumi put her hands on her hips and the others had the uttermost look of confusion.

"Yes, I do. I'm not sure how, but Kairi told me the other night when I was sleeping. She said I have to fulfil everyone's deepest desires or regrets. Once that happens, and I think I heard this from one of the other people like us as well as Kazumi, you'll be sent back to the Living World and it's pretty much up to God to decide if you get a second change at your life or if you won't make it back." Sora looked around for any form of response but to his dismay, everyone was looking quite solemn.

"So what you're saying is that we need to figure out everyone's deepest desire and or regret so that we can help them reach it? And then we'll be able to move on?" Hibiki decided to devour his bag of chips completely after what he said, paying no attention to what anyone thought at the moment.

Sora nodded. Even he couldn't hold back the feeling sorrow at a time like this.

"Well," Ren spoke up, her eyes still locked onto her feet as she fiddled with her thumbs. "What're we waiting for? I mean, we can figure out each other's desires and or regrets on the way to the Southeast Wing, since it's pretty far away."

"How far is it?" Vanitas asked, crossing his arms and readjusting the collar of his school uniform.

"I'd say about a two day's walk from here." Momoko sighed as she remembered the others going to that Wing two months ago, which was also the same time Kazumi and Hikaru came. "But you, Roxas, Sora, and Ventus might want to get changed into something more, _flexible._"

The four of them looked at each other and then back at Momoko, who was smiling a bit too widely for anyone's comfort.

**KHKHKH**

"So, is this appropriate to be wearing on school grounds? I mean, I'm sure there are rules and regulations, even if this is the Afterlife." Sora mumbled something under his breath about odd clothing and the chance of discomfort.

"Yeah, I really don't think we would blend in if we wore these." Roxas looked down at his clothes, which consisted of black gym shorts that ended at his shins, a white v-neck shirt, and white shoes. He looked over to Vanitas, who had on a red shirt with the same style black gym shorts as Roxas and black shoes. Vanitas didn't seem to mind, but when he saw his counterpart, he reconsidered his decision. Ventus had on grey baggy shorts, a grey v-neck, and grey shoes as well.

"Geez, I sure do wish all my clothes matched like his…" Vanitas murmured under his breath, causing Roxas to raise an eyebrow at the boy.

"Oh relax, you'll be fine. It's not like they'll care anyway." Kazumi scanned through the four boys and stopped when she saw Sora's attire. Despite him picking out his own clothes, it was quite different than the others'. No one questioned his choice in clothing, and no one questioned how or even when he got them. What Sora wore was something similar to what he wore when he was fourteen years old. The only difference was that the shorts he had on were longer and his shoes weren't as big.

"Well, if you say so." Sora put his hands behind his head and crossed his left foot over his right, his signature 'relaxed' pose.

"Alright, now let's leave shall we?" Hikaru said, making rapid progress with recovering from his fatal deaths and surviving.

"Wait, does everyone have a weapon? We can't just go in empty handed. Everyone put out your weapons on the table." Kazumi pointed to the coffee table in between the couches as she walked over to her sniper rifle, which was leaning against the wall in its case, and set it down gently on the coffee table. Hibiki was next, setting down his crossbow and quiver. Hikaru pretty much tossed his daggers onto the table and cracked his knuckles. Ren went over to her scythe and slid it under the small table, since there wasn't enough room on top. Momoko unstrapped her belt and set it down on the table. After a few seconds, everyone realized that on the belt were grenades and other assorted explosives. Lastly, Ryuu tossed his shotgun onto the ground and put his pistols next to said gun.

"Ryuu, put down _all _of your weapons." Kazumi sighed and looked at Ryuu with sympathy in her eyes for she knew why he wouldn't put down _all _of his weapons.

Ryuu hesitated for a moment before complying with her wishes. He detached his two golden watches and put them down as well, narrowing his eyes at Kazumi.

"Ok, now it's your guys' turns." Kazumi turned to Sora, Roxas, Vanitas and Ventus. The four of them looked at each other warily before nodding. They all summoned their separate keyblades as everyone's eyes held curiosity and fear once more. Sora had the Kingdom Key, Roxas had Oathkeeper and Oblivion, Vanitas had Void Gear, and Ventus had Wayward Wind. Even if it wasn't second nature for him, Ventus tried his best to hold his keyblade in a frontward position like everyone else. Unfortunately, his wrist started to hurt and he decided to revert to his backwards position.

"The Kingdom Key, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, Void Gear, and Wayward Wind…" Hikaru said in a low voice so that only Kazumi, who was standing next to him, could hear him. "We've only seen pictures of them."

"Yeah…" Kazumi couldn't take her eyes off of the keyblades but once she managed to, she told everyone to collect their belongings and head out to the Southeast Wing.

**KHKHKH**

"So, who wants to share their deepest desires first?" Hibiki spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group as they were walking through the field in front of the school.

No one spoke and Hikaru was the one to cough so that someone would at least make someone volunteer. It eventually worked when Hibiki suggested Momoko to go first. After two minutes of arguing, Momoko finally decided to go anyway.

"Well, if I had to desire something the most, I'd have to say that I would want to get married to the best man in the world. And I really do hope he would treat me the way I'm supposed to and not like one of his guy friends." Momoko fiddled with her fingers and looked down at her shoes, blushing.

Hibiki's heart started to beat irregularly and he looked around to see if no one noticed. _Good, no one can tell. I wonder who she'd want to marry. Could it be…?_

He swallowed his fear and decided to ask her himself. "Who would you marry, Momoko?"

She looked up out of shock and smiled at Hibiki. "I'll just have to tell you when this is all over. Next?"

"I… I'll go." Ryuu spoke, though he was looking at the ground as he walked. He decided to not make eye contact when he would 'spill the beans'. "But you have to promise not to laugh…"

Everyone fell silent until Sora spoke, followed by everyone else. "We promise."

He took a deep breath and looked up at the setting sun. "My deepest… desire… it's to not be alone again."

No one spoke for several moments. They were either silent out of sympathy or curiosity, and Sora was the most curious.

"What do you mean, _again_?"

Ryuu narrowed his eyes at Sora but dismissed his agitation. "When I was younger, my mother left me, my two sisters, and my dad. After a while, he started to drink to relieve himself of his depression and it soon became an addiction. He would come home every night drunk and I always told my sisters to go to bed early so that our dad wouldn't accidentally beat us. But one night, he came home sober, and we weren't sure what happened. So we decided to stay up. But of course, he got drunk less than two hours he'd been home and he ended up beating my youngest sister. He never knew what he had done until a funeral was arranged for her two days later. After that, he decided to never drink again. But that lead to him abandoning me and my sister at the ages of eight and seven. We went to an orphanage and not even two months had passed and my sister was adopted by a nice family."

A tear fell down Ryuu's cheek and Ren put a hand on his back, trying to comfort him. "It's ok. You can tell us."

Ryuu nodded and continued. "One by one, the other kids were adopted, leaving me to be one of the few kids left in the orphanage. Eventually, the orphanage closed down and the remainder of us went our separate ways. A few years passed and I think I was seventeen then. I had been on my own for almost ten years, going from friends' houses to friends' houses. But one night, when I went out to get some food from a friendly baker, a drunk driver sped past a red light and hit me. I was rushed to the hospital by a generous couple. That's all I remember. There are still bits and pieces that I can still hear when I sleep at night. Like what the doctors said in the hospital. I think they said I was in a coma and probably wouldn't wake up until much later. And that's when I came to the Afterlife, which was about a year ago."

Once again, everyone fell silent out of sympathy for him. There were no more tears to be shed and Ryuu returned to his normal self after a few minutes of remembering his life up until now.

"Well, I can tell you this: you'll never be alone. You have all of us here that will stand by your side until the end." Kazumi gave him a thumb up and smiled, raising his spirits. Everyone else chimed in with their own uplifting message to him. "Anyone want to go next? What about you, Ren?"

Ren tightened her grip on her scythe and looked at Kazumi with beady eyes. "Um, my deepest desire is to tell my brother goodbye, even though he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After I heard he died, I kind of put on this fake smile so that everyone would stop asking me if I was ok or if I needed to be comforted. But that didn't last long enough because I couldn't bear to live without my older brother. There was a funeral for me a few days later and here I am. I guess it's more or less like regret than a desire. But I don't know how you can fulfil that. It's not like he can come back and I can't speed up time. So, what do I do now?"

Sora put his finger to his chin and thought while he continued to walk. "I got an idea. What if we can simulate the relationship you had with your brother and re-enact the last time you saw him?"

Ren smiled softly at the idea. "That's not a bad idea. But how are we going to re-enact an entire day-"

"We can do it right now. Just give us the key parts to do and it'll be done in no time. But, if we do succeed, then you'll move on and _we'll _have to say goodbye." Roxas said in a sad tone of voice.

"That's fine with me. I'll do anything to see him again." Those were Ren's last words because after they did re-enact her last day with her brother, she did move on and the only thing left was her scythe and her leftover happiness that everyone brought onto her.

**KHKHKH**

"Well, who's left?" Vanitas asked, looking around at everyone and noticing Ryuu hold Ren's scythe. Sadness swelled inside of his heart and he looked away.

"I still haven't gone and neither have Kazumi, Hikaru, Sora, Roxas, Ventus, or you." Hibiki replied, deciding that he'll go to make everyone else have more confidence in themselves. "I… I want to tell the one I love how I really feel. And I guess it's a regret as well because I haven't told her yet. But I'm afraid that if I do tell her how I feel, then I'll move on and she'll have to be here without me."

"Who is it?" Momoko asked, slightly blushing.

"Momoko," Hibiki stopped walking and turned around to face Momoko. "I'll just have to kill two birds with one stone."

He stooped down to one knee and held Momoko's hand gently. He looked up into her eyes and smiled. "Momoko, I've always loved you. Ever since you came here a year ago, I've always felt that you were the right person for me. And I kind of had a feeling that the person you want to marry is me."

Momoko nodded swiftly as tears swelled in her eyes.

"Well then will you marry me, Momoko? Will you marry me so that we can be together forever?"

"Oh Hibiki, of course I'll marry you." He got up and held her hand in his, cherishing the moment. They leaned in closer and right as their lips made contact, there was a flash of light and the two of them were gone. All that remained were Hibiki's crossbow and quiver, and Momoko's belt that held her explosives.

"That just leaves me to go; since I already told you all my desire." Ryuu set down his guns, Ren's scythe, and slowly took off his golden watches. He looked up at Sora, who was still curious about the two watches. "Fine, I'll tell you. Back when the others and I went on that mission two months ago, these two watches were my weapons."

Ryuu clicked a button on each watch and they transformed into bladeless hilts. "They were pretty powerful. They had the power of the wind. But ever since we retreated that night, it never worked again. That is, until now. And that's thanks to you guys. You made me feel like I could never be alone; and that's why I want you to never forget me, got it you guys?"

Everyone nodded and Sora smiled widely. "How can we?"

Ryuu smirked and closed his eyes. "It was fun while it lasted, guys. But it looks like my time's come." He opened one eye and looked at Sora. "Make sure you destroy that File for me- no, for all of us."

There was another flash of light and he was gone as well, leaving his two golden watches lying on top of his shotgun, his two pistols, and Ren's scythe.

Sora smiled and looked to the others, who were smiling as well. A tear ran down his face, which caught Roxas' attention.

"Sora, are you crying?" He asked, patting him on the back.

"What? No, I just have some dust in my eyes." Sora wiped his eyes and picked up everyone's weapons. "Now, let's go destroy that File, guys."

"Yeah, let's go!" Everyone yelled in unison.

It wouldn't be the last time they would see each other. They wouldn't forget the ones that stood by their sides, and they definitely wouldn't forget the ones that are still standing by their sides.

**KHKHKH**

Sora gasped for air and his eyes shot open as his silver-blue eyes looked around at where he was. He wasn't surprised though when he saw that Kairi was lying in the bed next to him, her auburn hair covering his face as she slept.

He stood up slowly as to not wake her and as to not stumble backwards. He hovered above her face. He only needed to say three words for her to smile in her sleep and acknowledge that it was him and no one else.

"Kairi, I'm back."

* * *

**Reviews are appreciated.**

_Disclaimer: Anything 'Kingdom Hearts' related belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Anything 'Angel Beats' related belongs to its rightful creator and script writer. I only own the OCs and the plot._


End file.
